Sophie Turner is promoting Dark Phoenix, which represents the end of an era for the current X-Men franchise. After this, the X-Men will be folded into the Marvel Comic Universe at Disney. And my guess is that we’ll be getting an entirely new cast and reboot in a few years. But for now, let’s enjoy the last outing for this particular crew, I guess. Sophie plays the young Jean Grey, the “Dark Phoenix,” and… I don’t know, why not? Sophie covers the latest issue of Porter Edit to promote the film, but of course she talks a lot about Game of Thrones as well. This interview was conducted just after Sophie eloped in Las Vegas with Joe Jonas, and after Game of Thrones ended. You can read the piece here. Some highlights:
On her Vegas wedding: “I don’t know if I feel like a wife yet. I don’t know how I feel. I mean, I feel good, obviously. But it happened so recently that I’m just kind of floating at the moment.”
She wanted the Vegas wedding to be a secret: “Maybe not forever. I think at some point I would have had to stop saying ‘fiancé’, but yes, I would have kept it a secret. Marriage is a private thing between two people and I think that’s how it should always be. It’s not about the dress, it’s not about the food. It’s about being husband and wife, and being dedicated to each other forever.”
Living in the pap-friendly Nolita area of New York: “I’ve learned to accept the fact that if it’s my worst-dressed day, they’ll probably catch me, and I’m okay with that. There’s this expectation for actresses to look good all the time, which is not what being an actress should be. It should be about playing a role. So why should all actresses have to be stick-thin and look beautiful all the time?” It’s a problem on-screen too, she believes. “Every director is like: ‘We really have to fall in love with this character.’ Why does the audience have to fall in love with her? What if she’s a serial killer? F**k that s**t.”
On Jean Grey’s mutant powers: “There are very clear mental health undertones to it. There’s a loss of control over her mind and her powers, representative of schizophrenia, dissociative identity disorder and addiction.” The theme has particular poignance for Turner, who has spoken openly about her own struggles with anxiety and depression, and who is passionate about destigmatizing mental health problems. “The first step to any kind of movement is just to put it out there, talk about it and make it less of a taboo so that people can go and get help and not feel embarrassed to do so. People feel so much shame about it, so if, by talking about it, I can even have an impact on one person, that would be awesome.”
The British still have a long way to go with discussing mental health: “My parents are still like, ‘Why do you go to therapy?’ and I’m like, ‘Because I’m depressed, remember?’ It’s a very British thing – that idea you should just get on with it, ‘chin up’. Therapy is seen as a bit self-indulgent, a bit soft. But therapy and medication have helped me immeasurably.”
She’s happy with the end of Game of Thrones: “When I read that script, I was so happy – it feels like the most perfect ending for Sansa. Having gone through everything she has, it’s the most positive outcome, and it feels right for her. She’s so capable now, she’ll be an incredible ruler in the North… The Starks really came out on top. It’s like that line of Sansa’s from season seven: ‘The lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.’ I love that line. I had it tattooed on my arm long before we knew the ending.”
When I think about the Game of Thrones, I still get upset – yes, Sansa got what she wanted, but at what f–king cost? Mostly I absolutely loathed everything to do with Tyrion, but I’m not going to keep going on and on about it. *rage screams into pillow* As for the rest of it, I admire her openness about her mental health and it’s interesting what she says about the British “chin up” attitude. That’s what the Cambridges and Sussexes have been trying to address in their various mental health campaigns. It feels like Sophie would be a natural celebrity patroness of something to do with one of those campaigns – I wonder if she’s ever been asked? As for the Vegas wedding to Joe Jonas… I mean, it is what it is. I hope they’re happy, truly.
Photos courtesy of WENN, cover courtesy of Porter Edit.
I love this photoshoot. And Sophie continues to be a great gal in my book.
When the inevitable biopic of J.K. Rowling happens, she’s a shoo in for the role.
It is soft. I prefer to drink in a darkened room and stare at a photo of my cold distant father.
You joke but I can’t laugh as my son is in the throes of horrible anxiety and OCD and medication alone is not enough to help him function without tremendous difficulty. Every day is just a huge f^cking struggle for him and I’ve been feeling heartbroken and helpless for over five years now. I am thankful we have insurance that covers therapy for him, which he was unwilling to do until recently when he realized he just couldn’t manage alone. I’m hoping he finally can overcome what has been robbing him of a full, happy life.
@Esmon, sending you hugs.
Consider going to a different psychiatrist who specializes in diagnosing affect disorders.
Chances are he has other stuff going on and needs different/additional medication.
It can make a huge difference.
There is a huge crossover with behaviors and symptoms with all the affect disorders and you almost always have more than one or two.
My youngest son is an example of this.
The drug cocktail that is finally really helping is Buspirone, Wellbutrine, Adderall, Zaprexa, Topramax.
For anxiety I really recommend trying Buspirone he is willing to leave the house now and go some places (we went to a water park tuesday!!)
He is bipolar, OCD, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, general anxiety disorder, has psychosis behaviors (not pinned down on a diagnosis there yet as it’s a big umbrella ) ADD and is high functioning but somewhere on the spectrum.
All except the spectrum are affect disorders and they all are VERY similar looking in boys, but even a touch of autism looks like affect disorder behaviors. So be open to additional diagnosis.
Buspirone has been a godsend for my sister, myself, another son and a friend of mine who recently started. Very little to no side effects.
My bipolar and OCD blend, a lot of what I used to think was my OCD stuff is actually my bipolar and visa versa. So please take him to an additional Dr who specializes in diagnosing affect disorders and the medications
Thanks Slowsnow, Wisca and CairinaCat. CC, my son is on the spectrum and has seen a parade of professionals since he was very young. In some ways he’s doing very well, considering how many obstacles his brain puts in his way every day. His situation is indeed complex and everyone we’ve talked to feels like CBT (and possibly a meds change) is the only way he’s going to get a handle on this. I love his new therapist and he actually does, too, and seems willing to put in the work. If it doesn’t seem to be helping in a few months I agree it might be worth looking at other diagnoses. Best to you!
Very funny Avalanche. Esmon, I’m sorry for your son’s struggles.
I’m happy that Dark Phoenix is a critc flop and it seems to be also a BO flop. I’m not a big fan of GOT but continually seeing videos of Jessica Chastain and Sophie Turner that did nothing but talk (often badly) about Daenerys really upset me. It almost felt like Daenerys was a character in the movie!
Mess
So you want the movie to flop because you don’t like what they said about a fictional character? On a show you claim to not to be a big fan of? That’s weird.
My husband’s a Brit and he has this exact attitude. It is so frustrating, the idea that I’d just be able to focus or control my anxiety away. Even going to therapy has a stigma, like it’s not polite to discuss and should be hidden away. I’m glad she’s willing to speak out and help change things. Heard the movie isn’t the greatest though… guess we’ll see!
I’m saying this as someone with many mental health issues who’s been to many therapists: why the need to publicly discuss any of your medical appointments? Would you publicly announce if you’d been to the gynaecologist or had a colonoscopy earlier that day? If it’s a medical issue like any other, doesn’t treating it this way just enhance the stigma?
But, the point is that many people are embarrassed, and no, while they wouldn’t announce their gyno appointment in the newspaper, they are probably more likely to tell their mom or friend about a gyno appointment or needing to find a gyno than their therapy appointment, or needing to find a therapist. Like, most physical body issues, even if private, are still less embarrassing to some people than saying they need mental health treatment. I have suggested it to people who have literally screamed back that they aren’t “crazy”, but sure they’ll tell me about their physical ailments all day long. Some people don’t consider it a real thing. So having movie stars say that it is a real thing and don’t be embarrassed to take care of yourself might help some people get help
People do discuss breast cancer screenings and colonoscopies quite often to increase awareness so I’m not sure what you’re getting at
@DS9 I’m getting at that some people need to hear that mental health treatment is normal and ok. I don’t get what you don’t get
I love Sophie but she is not a good Jean Grey and it is obvious that an actress of Jessica Chastain’s calibre should have been cast in the Dark Phoenix storyline. Too bad that they putthem right beside each other in the movie! I hope Sophie’s career can recover from this flop and she finds something more suited to her acting abilities.
It is obvious that she didn’t actually understand the first thing about Sansa Stark. For show!Sansa yes, but then again that character stopped having anything in common with book!Sansa in like S3?
She thinks the ending epitomized “the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives”? The pack spit up! They will all likely not see each other again!
Ahhhh, I hated this ending!
I love the photos so much she does androgyny so well,also she seems so well adjusted for being famous for so long so young.
Unpopular opinion, and I say this as someone with mental health issues who has gone to therapy at points in my life: At a certain point, for certain people, because of certain therapists, I think it can be VERY self-indulgent. The “chin-up” idea is horrifying to me and I don’t believe that at all, but there are some people that I think therapy hurts more than helps.
I have a friend who was struggling a bit and decided to seek the help of a therapist, and I was thrilled for her. In the months following, she now thinks wallowing in self-pity over everyday problems like an annoying boss or tiffs with her spouse is constructive, because it’s what she does in therapy instead of tackling the issues that made her want to start going in the first place. She is so much worse off than how she started this journey. Basically, I think some therapists want permanent patients who will just sit in their sadness rather than helping them work for their issues and come out of therapy with a better set of tools to cope with their mental health problems.
Having survived an extremely dysfunctional childhood including a rape, I’d like to offer that yoga did more to help me heal and be happy than all the years of therapy I had. I’m not anti-therapy, and if you find the right professional it can really help. But yoga truly set me free, and lets me find joy each day.
My own family is very anti-therapy and they are Americans because they don’t want me discussing my toxic childhood. I don’t know why they care whether a stranger knows about my physically/verbally abusive mother whom my father is still married to, but they do. I have been in therapy since 21 and I am now 38.
in ‘britain tears are deemed proof of illness in a clinical setting.
therapy is almost unknown but there is low cost medication.
Marriage is a private thing between two people and I think that’s how it should always be. It’s not about the dress, it’s not about the food. It’s about being husband and wife, and being dedicated to each other forever. – could not agree more. This is the same thing I said under the post for Idris Elba’s wedding earlier this week.
I really want to know what she means about Dark Phoenix being somewhat about dissociative identity disorder in addition to schizophrenia because they are not even close to being the same thing!
DID already has a stigma surrounding it from bad Hollywood movies, and she needs to get her facts straight about it before saying that it’s similar to schizophrenia and addiction.
She’ s not saying they are similar disorders. She’s talking about the thematic “undertones” as she calls them. And yes, I guess you could see some kind of metaphor for having hallucinations, having split personality disorder and… I guess the power she aquires is like an addiction? Dont know. Im happy for her and I like her, but I doubt this movie is as deep as it could’ve been. Those ARE interesting subjects…
This movie is a such flop.