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Maisie Williams has admitted that she had to stop binge drinking because the side effects were taking over her life.

The Game of Thrones star made the comments during an interview with Britain's The Guardian newspaper and confessed that she used to drink to excess on the first night of her weekends off then suffer for the next week, which ultimately resulted in her feeling exhausted.

"I've stopped binge drinking now," the star insisted. "I feel like that's basically how I spent my adolescence. I was living the life of an actor and then talking about it, but not actually ever feeling like I had lived a day in my life."

Having kicked the habit, the Doctor Who actress now feels more grounded and has even found a new lease of life.

"Recently, I've had a chance to just live my life rather than living my life in front of people, and then telling them about it, you know?" the 22-year-old commented.

Maisie also reflected on fan culture and claimed that while she's now more comfortable with being in the public eye, she initially found dealing with the attention overwhelming.

"There is just this ownership of people that I think fandom can sometimes feel. It's hugely supportive, and it's only ever to admire who it is that they are a fan of, but if we're going to talk properly about the human race, I don't think anyone is supposed to know how to deal with celebrity," she considered. "I don't know that there's anything that can be done, but I think understanding that it can drive people insane is the first step."