Maisie Williams opens up on feeling ‘ashamed’ of her body in Game of Thrones

Maisie Williams has revealed that she suffered with body image issues while playing Arya Stark in Game of Thrones.

The actor played Arya for eight years, from ages 12 to 20. As she got older, Maisie revealed that she had to use tricks to hide her developing body to keep playing the deadly, tomboy-ish Stark daughter.

Going through puberty is hard enough as it is - but when you're being asked to chop your hair off every six months and constantly wear a strap around your chest, things can only get worse.

Now that she's finished with Arya Stark, Maisie is getting more experimental with fashion and expressing her femininity.

But she still remembers the 'horrible' outfits and haircuts she used to live in throughout her teen years.

"Around Season 2 or 3, my body started to mature and I started to become a woman", she said in a recent interview with Vogue.

"But Arya was still very much, like, trying to be disguised as a boy."

Ben Queenborough/Alamy Stock Photo

She recalled: "I had to have really short hair and they’d constantly cover me in dirt and shade my nose so it looked really broad and I looked really manly.

"They’d also put this strap across my chest to flatten any growth that had started and that just felt horrible for six months of the year, and I felt kind of ashamed for a while."

Despite the uncomfortable time, Maisie still looks back on her Game of Thrones years fondly, and recently even went back and watched the full series.

Speaking in a livestream with Twitch star Talfuin, Maisie revealed: "You know what, I watched it recently."

But when asked what she thought of the show, Maisie did not hold back.

"It definitely fell off at the end," Williams admitted.

"But it started really strong, and I was heartbroken when Ned died. I knew it was coming… but for the first time I could really feel the story."

Ben Queenborough/Alamy Stock Photo

Even so, Maisie said earlier this year that she 'couldn't wait' for Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon.

Speaking to LADbible, she confirmed that she'd be tuning in to the highly-anticipated spin-off.

"I am going to watch House of the Dragon. I’m really looking forward to it. I can’t wait", she said.

"I'm very, very intrigued. It’ll be nice to watch a Game of Thrones show I’m not part of and just get lost in it. I’m thrilled."