 Williams had almost missed the audition (her second ever audition), due to the fact that it clashed with a school trip to a pig farm.As the series viewership rose, the international popularity of "Game of Thrones" gave Williams global recognition.Sophie Heawood of "The Guardian" described Arya's eight season character arc as a journey "from cute little sister to ruthless serial killer (of 64 victims)", and said that Arya was "the serial killer everyone's rooting for."