Game of Thrones was ‘my sex education’: Sophie Turner

LOS ANGELES — How to navigate the political subterfuge of King’s Landing is apparently not the only thing that Sophie Turner has learned during her time on HBO’s Game of Thrones.

Turner said in a recent interview with the Sunday Times that working on the hit drama served as her “sex education”.

The star was only 12 years old when she auditioned for the role of Sansa — the oldest Stark daughter — on Game of Thrones, a show noted for its adult content, particularly in the first season.

“I’d be doing a read-through and we’d be talking about very graphic stuff,” the now-21-year-old actress said. “The first time I ever found out about oral sex was from reading the script. I was like ... ‘Wow! People do that? That’s fascinating!’”

The show has never held back in its depiction of sexually explicit content, showing full nudity, orgies, and incest, in addition to graphic violence and gore.

It has come under fire in the past for its depiction of sexual violence toward women, a controversy Turner herself was caught up in when her character was repeatedly raped by her husband, Ramsay Bolton, during Season 5. Their violent wedding night, which took place in “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken”, prompted particular outrage and even caused the producers to change their approach to Season 6.

“Game of Thrones” returns for its seventh season in July. VARIETY.COM/REUTERS