Friday, May 27, 2016

With "X-Men: Apocalypse" and "Game of Thrones," Sophie Turner is coming into her own


X-Men: Apocalypse | The Extraction [HD] | 20th Century FOX

Sophie Turner is due for some apocalyptic developments. At the tender age of 13, Turner booked her first big gig in HBOs Game of Thrones. She was cast as Sansa Stark, the oldest daughter of the noble Stark household; a red-headed beauty with wide-eyed plans for the future.

Sadly, her wide-eyed optimism wouldn"t last. By the end of the firstseasonher father was decapitated. As "Game of Thrones played out Sansa would be shackled to not onebut twoof the biggest sadists in all of Westeros. The character would be raped, slashedand humiliated. The abuse would get so bad that in 2015 a great wave of think pieces rose up, demanding the return of some sort of agency for the fictional teenager.

But seven years and six seasons later, the power dynamic has shifted for Turner in more ways than one.

She may have started on Game of Thrones as the little dove but today she"stransformed into a wolf, on both the small and the big screen. This weekend the actress will continue to (in her own words) prove the haters wrong on HBO while simultaneously starring in her firstsizable movie role in X-Men: Apocalypse.

And this isnt just any old spandex and cape part, Turner is playing what many consider to be the most powerful mutant in all of Marvel, the telepathic, telekinetic Jean Grey, whose gifts surpass those of even her mentor, Charles Xavier(James McAvoy). In the Marvel comics, Jean"s powers eventually consume her, turning her into the formidable Dark Phoenix.

This mutanthas been portrayed previously several times in the X-Men franchise by actress Famke Janssen, but despite the character"s long legacy inthis mutant world,Turner will be revealing a side of Grey in "X-Men: Apocalypse" audiences havent seen before. In the first three movies, Jean is a full-fledged human being, Turner explained in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. She has her [stuff] together. She has her life planned out. She can kind of control her powers until it gets too "Dark Phoenix" and weird. But this Jean is different. Shes very vulnerable. She has no idea how to control her powers. Shes too strong for her own good.

The English actresswas first made aware of 1980s mutant period piece thanks to a modern convenience: social media. Once word broke that Fox studios was looking for a younger version of Grey to fit in with the prequel timeline set up in Matthew Vaughn"s "X-Men: First Class,"Turners inbox was flooded with youd-be-perfect-for-this-role type emails and twitter shout-outs. Turner humbly blames her auburn hair for the attention, but nevertheless the push from Game of Thrones fans and friends encouraged her to reach out for an audition that would land her a coveted spot on Xaviers class roster. Also enrolled in the new class of teen mutants were Cyclops (Tye Sheridan) and Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee).

We definitely were the newbies, but I personally didnt feel that new because we slotted in quite well with the golden oldies, Turner said referencing those X-Men veterans including Magneto (Michael Fassbender), Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and Beast (Nicholas Hoult). They really welcomed us, we felt part of the old gang. I suppose Apocalypse is something of a conclusion to the X-Men saga,[but] its also the beginning of something new. It feels like theres something of a rebirth as well as a conclusion.

Despite the serious circumstances surrounding the plot, centering the story in the time of f***y packs and shoulder pads did lend a few moments for a little fun. So how does an actor transform into a child of the Day-Glo era? You start with the hair. We just had to really elevate it a bit, Turner said. I think the reference was Brooke Shields-y. And a lot of hair spray. The shoulder pads, the acid washed mom jeans. What shoes did I have? They were kind of like boat shoes, I dont know, they were just hugely uncomfortable.

All that"80s nostalgia somewhat lost on an actress born in 1996 was silly enough, but the ridiculousness was taken to another level by the fact that most of Turner"s filmingwasspent running around gesturing wildly whilewieldinginvisible mutant powers that wouldbe added in months later via visual effects. You do kind of feel like an idiot, Turner joked. Because you just have to maybe like squint your eyes a bit and hope the people realize that youre actually doing something. Thankfully, McAvoy -- a temple-pointing-and-squinting expert --was on set to offer telekinesis tips.

But the bulk of X-Men: Apocalypse was centered on the title dilemma, the end of the world. And Turners character plays an integral role in saving the planet from anancient, villainous mutant (Oscar Isaac) h**l bent on the kinds of things villains are h**l bent on. It"s an easy parallel to make with what Turner is grappling with in the entirely different fantasy world of Game of Thrones.

Theyre both kind of coming into their own, Turner said. I think that Jeans is less ofa progression, shes not working towards it. When Phoenix happens its her letting loose -- shes not building up to it. It just kind of happens. Whereas Sansa"s [evolution is] because of her circumstances. Its been building her and building her and building her and each time someone chips away at her, she builds herself up again differently. She is very consciously changing and adapting where, Jean its less of a conscious thing.

Despite playing characters with anunwieldy amount of mutant mojo oran army of wildlings at her disposal, it"s not actuallythepower that attracts Turner to parts like Jean Grey or Sansa Stark, it"s thestruggle."I prefer playing someone whos flawed," Turner admitted."I cant relate to Phoenix in the slightest. I wish I could, that would be nice."

Source: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/herocomplex/la-et-mn-sophie-turner-xmen-apocalypse-game-of-thrones-20160523-snap-story.html

No comments:

Post a Comment