Game of Thrones' Sophie Turner reveals bizarre reason she was offered role over 'far better' actress

It's a sad reality that Hollywood isn't controlled by talent alone.

Sophie Turner's won fans and acclaim thanks to her role as Sansa Stark on Game of Thrones, as well as playing Jean Grey in X-Men: Apocalypse, but her involvement in the most popular TV show around has weaponised her with one major advantage.

Speaking to Net-a-Porter's Porter magazine (via NME), Turner confessed: "A lot of what I have achieved is about timing and luck, but it is also, and I hate to say it, about a big social media following."

"I auditioned for a project and it was between me and another girl who is a far better actress than I am, far better, but I had the followers, so I got the job. It’s not right, but it is part of the movie industry now," she added.

Indeed, social media has had a gargantuan impact on actors and the concept of celebrity as a whole, with stars having to navigate the complex balancing act of maintaining an online presence without oversharing in a way that may jeopardise their careers.

"It was so gradual that I still treated my life and my social media like I wasn’t in the public eye," she said. "I was a 15-year-old girl writing rash political stuff that would get a negative reaction and my team would tell me to take it down. Now I am learning to keep my mouth shut."

Game of Thrones airs in the US on HBO every Sunday where it is simulcast in the UK on Sky Atlantic at 2am. It is repeated that same evening on both Sky Atlantic and NOW TV.

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