Iwan Rheon is opening up about the day he filmed Ramsey’s rape of Sansa Stark on the HBO series Game of Thrones, which he says was the worst day of his career.
The scene is one of the most controversial ones in GoT history.
“That was horrible. Nobody wanted to be there. Nobody wants to do that, but if it’s telling a story then you have to tell it truthfully,” Iwan told Metro. “They didn’t sensationalize it or anything. It was very, very hard watching. It’s a horrible thing that happens, unfortunately… It was the worst day of my career.”
Iwan added, “Chopping someone’s finger off you don’t really see it, and when you’re doing like a close up, it’s a piece of plastic. We’re just acting, it’s not real. Then something like that where you’re in the actual reality of the situation is very difficult to deal with. It was a horrible, horrible day. This is something that we shouldn’t even have to worry about, because it’s something that shouldn’t exist in this world but unfortunately it does.”
Sophie Turner, who played Sansa Stark, spoke out about how she was affected by playing the role.
“Initially, I didn’t feel there was anything that stayed with me from all the things Sansa went through. But though I think it hasn’t affected me emotionally, I did start thinking about the domestic abuse and rape, and it spurred this little part of me that might be an activist,” she told Harper’s Bazaar last year.
