With Game of Thrones finally over, Sophie Turner has wasted little time delving into the next chapter of her life – that of a bona fide movie star.
From June 6, fans will see the actress cast off Sansa Stark in favour of Jean Grey when she takes centre stage in X Men: Dark Phoenix, the culmination of twenty years of the superhero franchise.
Much like what Logan did for Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, Dark Phoenix puts the conflicted Jean front and centre. For Turner, 23, who has been up-front about her struggles with mental health during her ascension to fame, it was an opportunity for her to dig deeper into the darker recesses of the human condition.
In Dark Phoenix, Turner’s Jean is almost killed during a rescue mission in space, before being hit by a cosmic blast that boosts her powers but also unleashes a monumental rage inside her. “There’s a lot of pain and rage in Jean,” Turner tells marie claire. “A lot of turmoil, a lot of noise, a lot of frustration.”
To research the role, she studied schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder. She was given audio of what a person suffering schizophrenia experiences on a daily basis, and would walk around in headphones listening while trying to do everyday tasks like the shopping or laundry.
Turner explains that she wants X Men: Dark Phoenix to open up other discussions around mental health. “It was so difficult and frustrating and I made myself keep them in but by the end of the day I just wanted to cry and scream.”
In fact, Turner views Jean as the perfect hero for the #MeToo movement.
“It’s totally relevant for today; it’s about women owning their anger and being allowed to own it. I also think it’s going to inspire a big discussion about mental illness, which will hopefully resonate with people who watch the movie.”
Refreshingly, the actress is completely honest about the way her own mental health was impacted by fame – particularly traversing her awkward teenage years in front of millions, many of whom were quick to get on social media and let her know what they thought.
“I have experienced mental illness first-hand and I’ve seen what it can do to the people around those people as well,” she explains. “My metabolism suddenly decided to fall to the depths of the ocean, and I started to get spotty and gain weight and all of these things were happening to me on camera.”
X Men: Dark Phoenix is in cinemas June 6.
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