Maisie Williams feels she already won, having made it this far in GOT

There were rumours circulating on the Internet about fan favourite Arya Stark dying in the second episode of the eighth and final season of Game Of Thrones (GOT).

Fans know not to discount such talk because the hit fantasy series is notorious for killing off main characters mid-show, several in spectacular fashion.

So when Maisie Williams, who plays Arya, went on The Tonight Show earlier this month and let slip that her character dies to host Jimmy Fallon, you could hear a pin drop in the studio audience as they totally bought her convincing horror at spilling a major spoiler.

But it turned out to be an April Fool's joke, so everyone was relieved, that is, if they believed her.

Well, the second episode aired last week and not only does Arya not die, she asks hunky blacksmith Gendry (Joe Dempsie) to have sex with her the night before the big Battle of Winterfell begins, because she wants to know what that feels like in case there is no tomorrow.

But earlier, at our interview at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in New York City, Williams addresses the relief of surviving eight seasons.

The 22-year-old English actress said: "I am thrilled that Arya has made it this far. I feel as shocking as they are, the way that these death scenes come about makes so much sense and they are plotted out so well.

"But for me, it is not like the next page I am going to turn and she is going to be dead because you are seeing the trouble that she is getting into. So there is not that nervousness, because it plays out so truthfully, even if you find it unfair. This season, making it to the final season, I at least won anyway."

GOT airs on HBO (StarHub TV Ch 601/Singtel TV Ch 420) on Mondays at 9am, with a same-day encore at 10pm. It is also available on HBO Go and HBO On Demand.

It amuses Williams to think that Arya is looked upon as a role model by female fans, considering she has a kill list and turns out to be one of the most bloodthirsty characters.

She said: "I don't know why people think that - she goes around slicing people's throats. But I guess we all want to be like Arya. We have all got a list inside our heads of people that we would rather not be around."

She took home a jacket, a part of her costume, when GOT wrapped.

But, referring to her trusted sword, she said: "I haven't been given Needle yet, which is my hope. But it is in an exhibition or something, so when everyone has stopped looking at it and touching it, then I will have it."

While she is sad that she will not be going back to the Belfast set with her cast members, Williams is clear about what she will miss the least about ending the show - the wet feet.

She recalled: "That was the worst thing. Because I have really bad circulation in my ankles, there were these waterproof socks that you can wear, but they would hold my feet too tight.

"You have got dry feet, but you can't feel it because they are too numb. Just the discomfort of that, changing socks, you are surrounded by muddy puddles everywhere, and you have to get these boots off but you have these huge gloves on, and so you take the huge gloves off and you try and take your boots off, which are covered in mud and your hands are covered and you can't find a bathroom anywhere and you are in the middle of a field. So it is just all of those little complications just to keep dry feet."

CHEMISTRY

She was 12 when she started the show and pretty much grew up on set and in the public eye.

She reminisced the "chemistry read" that actors go through to see if their connection with a co-star translates on camera.

Williams said: "That day was really strange. I read with one Sansa (Arya's sister) and then another Sansa. I didn't know what I was doing and I didn't know what they wanted to see.

" When Sophie (Turner) came in, I started playing with the scene and doing it differently. I hadn't trained to be an actor, it was just sort of instinctive at that point. And so Sophie really brought out the best in me and that chemistry comes across on screen and ultimately it is why we are here now and why we are such good friends as well."

Just as Turner will next be seen on the big screen playing the titular lead role in the upcoming X-Men sequel Dark Phoenix, Williams has also gone down a similar path.

In The New Mutants, a superhero horror movie based on the Marvel Comics team of the same name and the final instalment in the X-Men film series, she plays Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane, a Scottish mutant who can turn into a wolf.

It has been endlessly delayed with extensive reshoots but will open here on Aug 1.

She said: "My character is far more introverted than any I have played before. I think she is quite terrified of her powers and what they do to her. She likes to be in control, almost so much that it limits her from letting herself go or having too much fun. And being on set and playing a character like that was really bizarre, not being the one that was shouting and screaming at the protagonist.

"I think I am an outgoing person and I never shut up. So it was really interesting and different for me to do as an actor."

The writer is the president ofthe Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a non-profit organisation of entertainment journalists that also organises the annual Golden Globe Awards.