Sophie Turner Opens up About Kit Harrington Earning More Than Her on ‘Game of Thrones’

As conversations about the gender pay gap have been increasing in recent years, Sophie Turner is defending the disparity between her pay for Game of Thrones and that of her co-star Kit Harington for one simple reason.

In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar UK, Turner shared that she knew Harington made more than her for his role as Jon Snow on the HBO drama but that the amount of work he did garnered the extra money.

“Kit got more money than me, but he had a bigger storyline,” she said. “And for the last series, he had something crazy like 70 night shoots, and I didn’t have that many.”

“I was like, ‘You know what…you keep that money,’” she added.

Turner explained that the important thing is that conversations about equal pay are happening and that executives are “more willing to listen to people saying, ‘I want the same amount of money.’ So things are getting done, but it will take a while, I think…”

The actress has appeared on GOT as Sansa Stark since the show’s premiere in 2011, with the series’ eighth and final season having wrapped production last summer.

“I’m just coming to terms with it right now, it’s like a death in the family,” she said of the show’s conclusion. “I’m losing the character I’ve played so long.”

Throughout the show’s run, Sansa has gone through multiple traumatic experiences that included being brutally raped, seeing her father publicly executed, losing her mother, older brother and her home.

“Initially, I didn’t feel there was anything that stayed with me from all the things Sansa went through,” Turner said. “But though I think it hasn’t affected me emotionally, I did start thinking about the domestic abuse and rape, and it spurred this little part of me that might be an activist.”

The 23-year-old is now taking a bit of a break from acting, sharing that she’s using the time to learn more about herself.

“I’ve been trying to figure out what I like to do for myself,” she said. “It’s been 10 years of playing someone else, and doing what I’m told, and now I’m like ‘Hmmm. Maybe I should find some hobbies.’ I’m passionate about lots of things. I’ll sit in my house in New York and paint. And I’m doing ballet again.”

Turner’s next chapter will also see her marry fiancée Joe Jonas, with their love story having begun in very modern fashion on Instagram.

“We had a lot of mutual friends, and they’d been trying to introduce us for a long time,” Turner recalled. “We were following each other on Instagram and he direct-messaged me one fine day, out of the blue.”

“He’s lovely. He’s just the funniest,” she added of Jonas. “You wouldn’t expect he’s about to turn 30 this year. He’s the most fun, energetic, positive person I’ve ever seen. I’m pessimistic, so we balance each other out.”

Jonas hinted that the duo’s wedding will take place this summer in France, with Turner simply saying of the nuptials, “We’re trying to keep it as low-key as possible so it’s more of an intimate thing.”

Photo Credit: Getty / Jeff Kravitz