Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner has reflected on the ‘sex education’ she received from acting on the series.

During an appearance on the Dish podcast, hosted by Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett, Turner went into serious detail about the life lessons she learned during her 8 years acting on Game of Thrones. She was 15 years old when she first appeared on our screens as Sansa Stark, and she certainly had a rather intense introduction to a lot of adult behaviour and material.

‘I definitely got my sex education from that show,’ she said. ‘More than enough.’ The series remains notorious for its graphic sex scenes, which at times included incest and rape. The pilot episode saw Emilia Clarke’s character Daenerys raped by her husband Khal Drogo (played by Jason Momoa), as part of a ritual of the people Momoa’s character belonged to.

Turner also described the series’ nude scenes and their controversial storylines as ‘really crazy s**t.’

Speaking of her time on Game of Thrones, she said: ‘I loved it. I did love making it… It was the best acting class I’ve ever had,’ she said. ‘Cause I never had proper, formal training, so I got to learn from the amazing actors around me, which was like, I felt like I’d won, you know, a competition or something.’

‘It was great. It was like we all were a family and the character I got to live with for ten years, so it felt like we kind of merged into one person by the end of it. But it was amazing. It informed my entire life in terms of business decisions, just etiquette on set, how to act, everything, everything I learned from Game of Thrones. And a bit from my parents.’

This isn’t the first time Turner has divulged the ways that Game of Thrones helped form her sex education.

In a previous interview with The Times, she revealed that the moment where she found out what oral sex meant took place during a script read-through.

‘The first time I found out about oral sex was reading the Game of Thrones script. I was 13. I said, ‘Wow! People do that? That’s fascinating! I’d be doing a read-through and we’d be talking about very graphic stuff.’

She also told Stella Magazine about an extremely awkward story of her dad visiting set while she was about to film an attempted gang rape.

“It was horribly awkward,’ she said. ‘My dad just didn’t know this scene was going on, he just thought he’d turn up. We were like, “Oh bad day, Dad”.

‘I think in the beginning [my parents] were [shocked] – there were so many sex scenes in the first series – but after that they got used to it. They knew it was a good quality show. If it hasn’t been, I don’t think they would have been happy.”

She added that she felt she didn’t need any specific sex education from her parents after her time on Game of Thrones.

‘(When my mum tried to speak to me) I said, “This isn’t necessary, I know everything. I know every single thing that a person can do – and more”. The show is very inventive.’

Turner has also reflected on any ‘trauma’ she might have from filming such an intense show.

‘Growing up on a show like Game of Thrones, the subject matter was so heavy that I just developed a coping mechanism of just having the most fun in between takes, so I wouldn’t get traumatised,’ she told Jessica Chastain during an interview with The Cut.

‘I’m sure I’ll exhibit some symptoms of trauma down the road,’ she admitted. ‘At that age, I don’t think I could comprehend a lot of the scene matter. And the first few years, I had my mom with me because she was chaperoning me, so she would be very helpful and give me snacks.’

She also reflected on the ways that she learned to protect herself from other people’s opinions and expectations.

‘I felt I overexposed myself to the point where I welcomed everything in and everyone in on their opinions. Now, I think I would fight harder than I ever have to try and protect that.

‘I also think it’s not good for an actor to overexpose yourself. It’s important to have a sense of anonymity so that people can see you as other characters and believe it and not know you as just like, “Oh, Sophie.”’

Back in September 2024, five years after the series wrapped, Variety asked her whether we would see the return of her Game of Thrones character.

‘Maybe. I mean, it would have to be the exact same cast and the exact same crew otherwise, I wouldn’t go back, and that would just be Season 9,’ she responded, adding, ‘I don’t think we’re going to do a Season 9’ and that she “loved playing Sansa.’

‘I do wonder often what would she be doing now,’ she said. ‘Where would she be five years later, what would she be doing?’