Sophie Turner, aka Game of Thrones' Sansa Stark, has 5.4 million Instagram followers, 1.35 million Twitter followers, and 2 million Facebook fans. And that base has become a big—and at one point, deciding—factor as she's gone up for for new roles. "I auditioned for a project and it was between me and another girl who is a far better actress than I am, far better, but I had the followers, so I got the job," Turner told Porter (via The Telegraph UK). "It's not right, but it is part of the movie industry now."
Turner's film career is really just starting: the 21-year-old has appeared in X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) as the young Jean Grey and Barely Lethal in 2015. Which project exactly—current or past—where her digital following made the difference, Turner left unclear.
How unfiltered she is on social media is changing too. Initially, Turner was more open. Her rise to fame and followers was "so gradual that I still treated my life and my social media like I wasn't in the public eye."
"I was a 15-year-old girl writing rash political stuff that would get a negative reaction and my team would tell me to take it down. Now I am learning to keep my mouth shut."
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she's not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.
