'Game of Thrones' Star Sophie Turner Says She Was Pressured to Lose Weight by TV and Movie Studios

2019 Billboard Music Awards - Red Carpet
2019 Billboard Music Awards - Red Carpet / Emma McIntyre

Sophie Turner, known to many as Sansa Stark on HBO's Game of Thrones, recently opened up with an interview in Marie Claire Australia on how growing up in front of the camera negatively impacted her mental health--and the steps she took to feel better.

“Sansa has been through a bit,” the actress began with a laugh. She went on to talk about the struggles she faced off-screen while playing a character that went through so much herself.

“I have experienced mental illness firsthand and I’ve seen what it can do to the people around [the sufferers] as well,” the 23-year-old wife of Joe Jonas said. “My metabolism suddenly decided to fall to the depths of the ocean and I started to get spotty and gain weight, and all of this was happening to me on camera."

She said that in turn, she faced pressures from TV and film studios to lose weight. As awful as this is, the actress shared one major way she learned to cope. "Therapy. Everyone needs a therapist, especially when people are constantly telling you you’re not good enough and you don’t look good enough," Turner claimed. "I think it’s necessary to have someone to talk to, and to help you through that.”

We commend Turner for opening up on such a sensitive topic--one that no doubt countless actresses in the business deal with on a daily basis, as well as non-actors as well.

Turner wed Jonas on May 1 in Las Vegas following the Billboard Music Awards, and we're still waiting to see what happens to Sansa in the final episodes of Game of Thrones.