Formative Performances: Maisie Williams in “Game of Thrones”

[Women’s History Month, Day 9]

When people hear “Game of Thrones” and “great acting” in the same sentence, the first name that comes to mind is usually Peter Dinklage, and for good reason. His character is THE fan favorite and gets the best snarky dialogue of everyone. But there’s another performer who doesn’t get the same awards attention as Dinklage, even though she should: Maisie Williams as Arya Stark.

Arya Stark, as written, is another character that’s a dream to play, and harder to pull off than Tyrion Lannister. Most child actors are, by definition, not as seasoned as most adult actors. Arya could be an aggressive tomboy stereotype in the hands of a less capable performer, but Williams never lets us forget that she’s still a little girl forced to grow up too quickly. Arya doesn’t know everything about the world yet, but she knows who she is and has a better sense of self than most characters in the series. Kudos to Maisie Williams for finding the perfect combination of strength and vulnerability in Arya Stark. I hope she goes on to have a long and successful career.