TORONTO - Seventeen-year-old English actress Sophie Turner admits she hadn't even heard of George R. R. Martin's fantasy series "A Song of Ice and Fire" when she first auditioned for the "Game of Thrones" TV series.
Not grasping that the show could potentially explode into a global phenomenon, the then-13-year-old didn't rush out to read the books — in fact, she still hasn't read them cover to cover — and treated the potential gig like just another audition.
So when Turner was offered the role of Sansa Stark, she and her parents weren't fully aware of what the young actress was signing up for. It was only later they realized she would be starring in a drama rife with graphic violence and nudity and that Turner herself would eventually find herself acting in some very mature scenes.
But her parents decided she should continue on with the project and Turner's glad they did, as she now finds herself starring in one of the world's hottest series and in a role that's becoming increasingly prominent in Martin's story.
"It was after I auditioned and got the role that I realized this is an amazing series to be part of, it's got a huge fanbase. I never really realized how lucky I was until after I got the role," says Turner.
She got a little bit of a rough ride from the show's rabid fans in the first season, as her snooty character Sansa — the daughter of key season 1 patriarch Ned Stark, Lord of Winterfell — was one of the less likable in the early storylines.
"I understood in season 1 why people didn't like my character because ... she's naive, she's very vulnerable and she's kind of a girly girl and people don't respond well to that kind of character (on this show)," Turner says.
"But I think she's a great character, she develops so much."
It did get easier for fans to sympathize with Sansa as she was forced to endure life with the most loathsome character on the show — and one of the most hate-able characters of any show in recent memory — the young, petulant Joffrey Baratheon, who claims the Iron Throne and rules ruthlessly as a moody tyrant. Even as his future wife, Sansa isn't immune to his punishing mood swings.
And then late in season 2, her character's suffering continues as she's attacked by a gang of villagers and faces the prospect of rape.
It's an intense scene for a young actress but Turner says she loved the challenge of the dramatic moment.
"I actually for some reason really enjoyed doing those scenes, it was so much fun working with the stunt team and I'd always thought throughout season 1, I was like, 'I'd love to do some stunts,'" she says.
"I was more petrified about singing in front of people than doing this, like, sexually abusive scene, it was so much fun and (actor Rory McCann, who saves her character) and I had a blast doing it."
She also gleefully points out that Jack Gleeson, who plays King Joffrey, shares little in common with his menacing character.
"Jack is the nicest guy ever, everyone asks me, 'How's Jack?' and 'When will Joffrey die?,' but Jack is the nicest guy," she says.
"It's a sign of a good actor, really, that everyone absolutely despises him. He's fantastic."
While unable to say too much about the drama to come in season 3 — press handlers shut down questions about new episodes — she did say that her character is growing more important to the overall story, as is the case in the books.
"People undermine her a lot and you know understandably they undermine her because she's not this huge player in the game and she's not aware of the politics and she seems like a vulnerable little girl, but I think she could turn out to be the underdog," she says.
"She's silently working her way through this world and learning things ... and I have high hopes for her in the future."
The new season of "Game of Thrones" kicks off Sunday on HBO Canada.
