There’s no question that the rise of technology and social media has had both positive and negative consequences — especially when it comes to celebrities being unable to separate their professional lives from their private ones. One perfect example is howGame of Thronesactor Faye Marsay was forced to leave social media thanks to backlash for her character in the series.
Seasons 5 and 6 ofGame of Thronessaw fan-favorite character Arya Stark training to be an assassin at the House of Black and White in Bravos. Her teacher, the illusive Jaqen H’ghar, put her through rigorous training, but the most grueling challenge thatArya faced was going head-to-head with the Waif, played by Faye Marsay. The Waif didn’t hold back when it came to testing the young Stark’s skills, and unfortunately, the character’s cruelty caused someGoTfans to react negatively to Marsay herself.
Faye Marsay Was Harassed Online Because Of Her Game Of Thrones Character
Marsay Stepped Away From Social Media As A Result
Faye Marsay’s impressive portrayal of the Waif was so utterly convincing thatGame of Thronesfans were not shy about voicing their hatred for her. Unfortunately, theirinability to separate the actor from the role caused some fans to react in cruel and inappropriate ways, including harassing Marsay online. The backlash she received was so detrimental to her mental health that Marsay decided to take a step back from social media for a while. In a 2016 press conference, Marsay said, (viaDigital Spy)
“I got a lot of s*** after Game of Thrones. “I’ve just come off Facebook three days ago. But I’ll go to check it and be like, ‘f***ing hell, I’m not on that anymore’, and thank god I’m not. It’s terrifying, social media, it terrifies me."
In an interview withIndependentin 2023, Marsay related to the experience once again, saying:“After Thrones came out, there was quite intense backlash at one point. Just because of the character I played. [The fans] hated her. Because Maisie’s character was, like, the one – and there I am, hitting her with a stick.”
Faye Marsay’s Black Mirror Episode Eerily Mirrors Her Own Experience
“Hated In The Nation” Is About The Dangers Of Social Media
What makes the tech-noir thriller seriesBlack Mirrorso successful is how frighteningly it relates to modern-day internet culture.TheBlack Mirrorepisode “Hated in the Nation”offers an especially terrifying concept, and I couldn’t help but notice how it stars Faye Marsayanddirectly correlates to her own personal experience, making it all the more unsettling.
Black Mirror Season 7: Everything You Need To Know
Black Mirror season 7 marked the return of Charlie Brooker’s anthology series, and here’s everything you need to know about the latest set of ep
In this season 3 episode, Marsay plays a constable-in-training named Blue Coulson, who teams up with Chief Inspector Karin Parke (Kelly Macdonald) and Detective Constable Nick Shelton (Joe Armstrong) to solve a disturbing murder. During the investigation, the team discovers thatthe use of a trending social media hashtag, #DeathTo, may be the cause of multiple murders, including several controversial celebrities.
The team soon learns that the hashtag is related to a swarm of nanotech bots called autonomous drone insects (ADI), whose original use of replacing the endangered bee population has been reprogrammed to kill whoever receives the most #DeathTo mentions online.
The actor understands the consequences of cyberbullying more than most.
The similarities between the plot of “Hated in the Nation” and Marsay’s real-life experience are uncanny, which makes her perfect for the role of Coulson. The actor understands the consequences of cyberbullying more than most, and as she told theIndependent, “Social media can be a brutal tool, and we all know it.”
How Fans Reacted To Other Game Of Thrones Actors Who Played Villainous Roles
There are many nefarious characters fromGame of Thronesthat fans of the show loved to hate, while others were just plain hated. For other actors besides Faye Marsay, it seemed to be a mixed bag of reactions from theGoTfandom.
Surprisingly,Jack Gleeson, who played one ofGame of Thrones' most hated villains, Joffrey Baratheon, reported that he hasn’t received nearly as much hate from fans as one might think.“Thankfully, I’ve never had any negative fan experiences or anything,”Gleeson said in a Q&A during a 2022Game of Thronesconvention(viaEntertainment Weekly).“A lot of people come up to me because I guess this rumor started that people were horrible to me on the street or I get attacked… whereas I’ve never had one negative experience.”
In a similar vein, actor Iwan Rheon, known for his role as the sadistic Ramsay Bolton, toldCBR:“People generally know that I’m an actor, I hope. Yeah, people go, ‘Yeah, I hate you, you bastard,’ but it’s always a bit tongue in cheek. I don’t really get [any trouble].”
On the other hand, Lena Headey, who played Cersei Lannister on the show, told Conan O’Brien on a 2013 episode ofLate Night with Conan O’Brien, “I mean I guess it’s a compliment, you know, when somebody, when you’re buying a table and someone’s like ‘You’re that fing b* off [Game of Thrones].’”
While Headey’s reaction to being called such an offensive slur might just be her being glib, I don’t think I’d personally take it as a compliment. Maybe it’s just me, butit’s a bit disturbing that the female actors who played villain roles onGame of Thronesseemed to get a lot more hate from fans than the men.
What Faye Marsay Has Been Doing Since Game Of Thrones
She Has Appeared In Andor & Adolescence
Thankfully, Faye Marsay’s negative experience from being onGame of Throneshasn’t deterred her from continuing an acting career. Following her role in the series,Marsay went on to starin the British miniseries,Love, Nina,in which she played real-life writer, Nina Stibbe. She also appeared in several films, such as the 2017 Winston Churchill biopic,Darkest Hour,starring Gary Oldman, as well asA Private Warin 2018, andLady Chatterly’s Loverin 2022. Perhaps most excitingly, Marsay played the rebel soldier Vel Sartha in the Disney+Star Warsuniverse series,Andor, and appeared in an episode of its newest season.
Most recently, Marsay stars in the British period dramaTen Pound Poms,and can also be seen in thecast of the acclaimed Netflix crime dramaAdolescence,playing DS Misha Frank. Although there hasn’t been any official news of any other upcoming projects, it looks like Faye Marsay has found plenty to keep her busy after her time onGame of Thrones.
