She may play the role of a coin-flipping, sword-wielding Stark of the North in Game of Thrones, but in real life people can’t help but call her cute. Which is something the newly-appointed ambassador for the Always #LikeAGirl ad campaign is seriously over. “I remember being told I was cute and feeling it was really patronising,” she tells Claire Cohen, “what if I wanted to get muddy and play with the boys? I felt like I was boxed in by this one word”.
Increasingly hailed as the voice of our generation, Maisie is quick-witted, sharp-tongued, and unapologetic. “I’ve been told by a lot of people that I should keep my mouth shut. But that just fuels me to do the complete opposite”. However, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing. The last time she spoke her mind – she supposedly dismissed Emma Watson’s He for She speech at the UN as “first world feminism” – she was forced to send Watson an apology, which Watson graciously accepted. “She said to me that it’s going to happen and was really supportive. And I thought, actually this is what it’s all about – women supporting each other in this industry, where it’s like being thrown to a pack of wolves and it’s really scary.”
Other things the 18-year-old would like to add to her hit list include Hollywood’s supposed preference for looks over talent, female sexuality being considered a taboo, and the wicked ways of internet trolls. All hail Maisie Williams, queen of everything (anything but cute).
Credits
Text Tish Weinstock
Photography via