Sophie Turner Is Upping Her Game

Shes spent most of her teens in one of the biggest TV shows of all time,now shes taking on X-Men. Game Of Thrones star Sophie Turner talks red-carpet phobias, rape scenes and crying in front of Barack Obama.

- Elaine Lipworth

It’s a quintessential Hollywood scene. I am sitting by a swimming pool in which no one is swimming, on the patio cafe at the hip Sunset Tower Hotel with Game Of Thrones star Sophie Turner. Around us, a jaded-looking ‘industry’ crowd is huddled over drinks, but the 20-year-old British actress is all youthful energy and good humour, dressed in a pale blue Topshop T-shirt over ripped jeans, and snacking on a plate of sausage rolls (the current LA food trend). The state’s legal drinking age is 21, so sadly a cocktail is off limits. ‘It’s really strange, considering that back in London I can go out and drink and party,’ laughs Turner. ‘At home, I would be down the pub with my friends … though I don’t actually like the taste of alcohol, so I would probably be drinking vodka and cranberry, something sweet.’

Growing up in Warwickshire with her parents, Sally, a former special needs teacher, and Andy, a businessman, plus her two elder brothers, James and Will, Turner started performing as a toddler. Then, at 13, her life changed forever when she was cast as Sansa Stark in the violent and utterly compelling Game Of Thrones. In between the show’s six seasons, Turner has also made strides into Hollywood with films such as Barely Lethal, co-starring Hailee Steinfeld and Jessica Alba, and next month she’ll join Jennifer Lawrence and Michael Fassbender as Jean Grey in X-Men: Apocalypse, the latest in a colossally successful superhero franchise.