Sophie Turner enters a London bar in a black leather jacket and black pants, looking a bit like her transformed character on the last season of HBO’s Game of Thrones—where fans were delighted to see the perpetually victimized Stark daughter finally seize some measure of control by luring master manipulator Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen). Here, we chat about last season’s big change, what life has been like since joining the show, her Starbucks fixation, and a little bit about Sansa’s dark season 5.

 

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: We have to start with last season’s Darth Sansa costume change.
Sophie Turner: It was so fun.

 

Which you’re continuing here today.
Apparently! I think I’ll just wear all black from now on.

 

What was your reaction when producers showed you the outfit?
It had been the most difficult process for Michelle [Clapton, the series’ lead costume designer] to make, because I was fluctuating in weight, so we didn’t get the dress property until the day we shot it. So I just saw it all together on the day. it was incredible. It was so sick. It was nice having a change and [to] be able to reflect it outwardly with badassness. That was really fun. It’s like, the most uncomfortable costume I’ve ever worn, but it was really fun.

 

Does that continue into the new season?
It continues to a point. And then, um… [Note: We’re cutting this part out because, well, spoiler!]

 

What was surprising was reading comments and talking to people who suddenly started rooting for Littlefinger / Sansa romance.
It was so weird! That was really weird, actually. When the kiss happened, my Twitter exploded with “Eww! that’s disgusting!” And like the next day I got a ton of tweets going, “Ohhhh, they should be together.” Aidan has a daughter who’s like a year younger than me. Game of Thrones, they love that stuff. It was Sansa playing the game a bit more. I think they liked that because so far, she’s been the weak vulnerable one. Then she came out in the outfit she knew was going to—I’m reluctant to say the word “seduce,” but use it to manipulate Littlefinger. And they were like, “Oh, she is actually playing the game,” which was fun.

 

My read on it was that, the hair and her outfit, it was like she was trying to look more like her mom, whom Littlefinger had a crush on. Or am I off in that?
In some ways, the hair going black was more away from her mother. But the outfit was more womanly, and that was more along the lines of her mother. The hair—she wanted to be seen as someone completely different.

 

Who in the Thrones universe would make a good match for Sansa?
To be honest, Littlefinger. Not a match as in romantically, but as a duo they could be a real power duo. They have this weird balance and trust and distrust with each other, and she can somewhat manipulate him, and he can her. But romantically? I really don’t know. There’s not many great guys.

 

How’s your life changed over the past five years?
Obviously, Game of Thrones has given me a platform to stand on and a ton of opportunities for other projects. But apart from that, my private life hasn’t been invaded that much, and I’ve got quite a good balance. Thrones has just pushed me to a level that’s not “famous” but “well known,” and hopefully I can use it to hop onto other projects.

 

Do you want to keep acing permanently, or like Jack Gleeson [Joffrey] do you want to do this for awhile then do something else?
I have a burning desire to work at Starbucks.

 

Like, have a normal 9 to 5 job?
I was suggesting it to my parents, that I just work at a service station or a Starbucks or something.

 

What appeals about that to you?
I don’t know. I’ve always wanted to work at a WHSmith – do you have WHSmith in America? – it’s a stationary store. It’s my favorite place in the world. I don’t know why. But I do think the standard 9-to-5 routine is really appealing to me. Because acting is so unpredictable, except when working on Thrones. I want to keep acting for the rest of my life, but maybe with a random Starbucks job thrown in.

 

People I’ve met who work in high-end jobs and often say similar things, especially when their job is extremely stressful.
Yeah. I think it would be fun. Or setting up a club or a bar. Doesn’t Jay-Z have a club somewhere?

 

I assume?
He probably has like 10.

 

Do you have a dream project?
Not at the moment.

 

You kind of looked like you thought of something, but you weren’t sure about sharing it.
I mean… I think it would be really cool to do like a Marvel project with superheroes, because that’s so far from what I’ve done so far. But I don’t have a particular role or particular person I would like to play. It’s not like the roles I’ve had aren’t dream roles, but I don’t have one I’m after. But a superhero would be fun. [Note: After this interview was conducted, Turner was cast in X-Men: Apocalypse as Jean Grey—so mission accomplished.]

 

Do you have a superhero you’d most like to play?
All the superheroes I like are male, so I don’t think it’s going to happen.

 

Marvel did announce a female Thor.
Oh they did! So you never know.

 

I could see you as a female Spider-Man or something like that.
That would be so fun. Petra Parker.

 

Can you tease to your storyline this season in a non-spoilery way?
For Sansa, um… [Turner looks alarmed.]

 

You could say it’s a dark season for her.
It’s definitely a dark season for her. [MILD SPOILER ALERT] She just escaped King’s Landing, and she goes back to a place where she becomes somewhat of a prisoner again. Despite being a prisoner again, she plays it out very differently this time compared to before. She tries to take command and begins to manipulate the people who are keeping her prisoner—which is nice.

 

You also have Mary Shelly’s Monster coming up.
It’s not like a straight-up story about Mary Shelly’s life writing Frankenstein. It’s stylized and gothic, and it’s more of like a psychological story. It’s really about her seeing the monster and seeing Frankenstein before she writes it, and building up the frustrations in her mind. It’s about her psyche while doing it, and while trying to maintain a relationship. It’s really exciting.

 

Source: EW