‘The first half of my 20s was hell’: Maisie Williams on her tough childhood and why she’s been having more fun since Game of Thrones

Maisie Williams: ‘I’m in love! That’s all I’ll say.’ All portraits: Mary Rozzi/The Guardian View image in fullscreen Maisie Williams: ‘I’m in love! That’s all I’ll say.’ All portraits: Mary Rozzi/The Guardian Interview ‘The first half of my 20s was hell’: Maisie Williams on her tough childhood and why she’s been having more fun since Game of Thrones Simran Hans After her role in the fantasy series, the actor felt lost. Now she’s getting relationship advice from Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, and following a Sex and the City star’s mantra: never be anywhere you aren’t enjoying yourself Maisie Williams has dabbled in witchcraft exactly once. The actor was getting ready to audition for a part in a film. “I wanted it so badly that I went on to Etsy, and I paid a witch to manifest me the role,” she says, poker-faced. “It didn’t work, and that was where my days of witchcraft ended,” she adds, breaking into an infectious cackle. The spell may not have worked that time, but Williams will soon try her own hand at witchcraft on screen in Practical Magic 2. The sequel to the beloved 1998 romcom, about two supernatural sisters played by Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, it features Williams as Antonia, the youngest daughter of Bullock’s Sally Owens. She never did get her money back from her Etsy witch. “It was maybe, like, £16.50? Which is not going to break the bank, but good for her. Good for her, to be making money doing nothing!” Williams laughs again. We meet on a sweltering afternoon at a posh pub in Belgravia in London where women in expensive-looking sundresses are drinking Aperol spritzes on the terrace. Williams arrives from a busy day of appointments. The pair were catching up and discussing Murray’s recent memoir, The Make-Believe, about her devastating experience with a wellness cult. The group promised spiritual healing through expensive, elaborate rituals; Murray experienced a psychotic episode and was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder. “I knew something was going on, but I didn’t know it was that,” Williams says. “I felt really upset with myself for not asking sooner.” View image in fullscreen Maisie Williams as Arya Stark in Game of Thrones (above) and with Florence Pugh in The Falling (right). Photographs: Helen Sloan/HBO; AlamyView image in fullscreen Williams says she hasn’t always been a sceptic regarding magic. “I used to indulge in the whimsy of the patterns of the universe and think, ‘Oh, it’s a sign that everything’s going to work out.’” She says, taking a sip of Diet Coke.