In its six seasons on the air, Game of Thrones has become widely known for how often characters meet disastrous fates, but there's been no downplaying the series' HBO-ness where nudity and sex are concerned. And in fact, the show's too-extreme-for-everyone subject matter apparently served as a form of sex education for star Sophie Turner, who was 15-16 when Season 1 was coming together. Here's how she put it:
The first time I ever found out about oral sex was from reading the Game of Thrones script. I said, 'Wow! People do that?' That's fascinating! I guess that was my sex education.
Of all the things that Game of Thrones could be known for teaching its cast, crew and audiences, I'm not sure that most people would assume "sexual antics" would be anywhere near the top of that list. After all, the series has put forth relatively few scenes featuring two consenting adults engaging in acts of emotionally embroiled lovemaking, and viewers usually bear witness to more deviant acts done to prostitutes in brothels, or the Lannister siblings' incestuous leanings, or stomach-clinching rapes, etc. No level-headed junior high Health teacher would dare put Game of Thrones episodes on in an effort to legitimately educate anyone about intercourse.
Sophie Turner shared this interesting tidbit with The Times (via Deadline), and really, this is hardly the first time that a movie or TV show has provided young actors with off-the-cuff teachings. One might assume that Sophie Turner also didn't know much about the anatomical processes that spawned from a character's eyes getting gouged out and then his or her head getting ripped apart. That, of course, is a lesson that can only be led by Professor The Mountain.
Coming into Game of Thrones in her mid-teens, Sophie Turner thankfully wasn't immediately thrust into the show's darkest depths -- although I guess having her fictional father get shockingly decapitated that early on wasn't exactly Sesame Street. Hopefully learning about blowjobs (and potentially other acts) from Game of Thrones scripts won't do any longterm damage to her psyche. Any and all future beaus should be wary if Turner keeps a big pen of starving dogs in her backyard, though.
Speaking of hungry canines, Ramsay Bolton's effect on Sansa's life certainly bled into Sophie Turner's real life, since the controversial scene of sexual assault earned Game of Thrones its most harsh critiques yet. And now that all this time has passed, Turner admits she was naively blasé about the scene at the time, and while she initially had regrets about putting it out there, she soon came to realize that bringing further awareness and constructive conversations concerned sexual assault was a positive outcome.
With more debauchery to come in Season 7, Game of Thrones will return to HBO on Sunday, July 16, at 9:00 p.m. ET. To see what else is coming to the small screen in the near future, head to our summer premiere schedule.
