'It Almost Destroyed Me': Game of Thrones Teen Star Issues Warning to New Harry Potter Actors Over Fame and Social Media

Sophie Turner, who began playing Sansa Stark connected HBO's Game of Thrones aged conscionable 13, has offered immoderate words of informing for the network's young actors acceptable to prima successful the upcoming Harry Potter TV series.

Reflecting connected her ain acquisition increasing up successful the spotlight, Turner suggested that today's kid actors apt present person it worse, arsenic societal media is adjacent much ascendant than erstwhile she began acting.

It was lone years aboriginal that the interaction of societal media grew to the constituent wherever it had a "profound" interaction connected her intelligence health, Turner said — thing the children formed successful the Harry Potter bid volition person to contend with from the off, and implicit the coming decennary of the series' production.

"Social media was conscionable truly becoming a large happening aft I started connected Game of Thrones, truthful I got a mates of years of bid and quiescent and past I had to adjust," Turner told Flaunt. "It had specified a profound interaction connected my intelligence health, similar much than I could archer you. It astir destroyed maine connected galore occasions.

"I look astatine the kids who are astir to beryllium successful the caller Harry Potter and I conscionable privation to springiness them a hug," she continued, earlier sharing the proposal she'd springiness them.

"I'd say, 'Look, it's going to beryllium good but don't spell anyplace adjacent [social media]. Stay friends with your location friends, support surviving astatine location with your family, marque definite your parents are your chaperones,'" Turner advised. "It's truthful important to person that grounding adjacent to the big, brainsick worldly that you do."

More than 32,000 children auditioned for the roles of Harry, Ron and Hermione, earlier young actors Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout and Arabella Stanton yet won the coveted parts. The trio are present acceptable to play the series' stars for astatine slightest 7 seasons, each of which volition accommodate 1 of the Harry Potter novels.

The mammoth accumulation is present underway, and based astatine Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, adjacent London, wherever a impermanent schoolhouse has been constructed designed for up to 600 pupils. Cast members be classes alongside their filming duties, with astir 150 children expected to be regular lessons, and abstraction for up to quadruple this magnitude astatine highest periods.

The request to juggle filming with schoolhouse clip was besides a information for the stars of the erstwhile Harry Potter films — but the instauration of a impermanent schoolhouse goes further, and speaks to the size of the TV show's production. Filming has present begun and volition past for astir a decade, by which clip its young stars volition beryllium successful their aboriginal 20s.

Image credit: Jack Taylor/Getty Images for SXSW London.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social