Last Thrones season ‘gruelling’
The arrival of winter in Westeros made the final season of Game of Thrones especially gruelling, says Jon Snow, a.k.a. Kit Harington.
The Emmy-nominated Game of Thrones star told GQ Australia that filming Season 8 of the HBO series, set to première in April, was excruciating.
“The last season of Thrones seemed to be designed to break us,” Harington, 32, told the outlet. “Everyone was broken at the end. I don’t know if we were crying because we were sad it was ending or if we were crying because it was so [expletive] tiring.
“We were sleep-deprived. It was like it was designed to make you think: ‘Right, I’m [expletive] sick of this.’ I remember everyone walking around toward the end going: ‘I’ve had enough now. I love this, it’s been the best thing in my life, I’ll miss it one day — but I’m done.’ ”
The English actor said he is excited to be at home more with former Thrones co-star Rose Leslie, whom he wed in June.
“I think people who don’t work in film or TV don’t [realize] quite how disorientating it is, being away from home all the time,” he said.
“Coming [to the hotel] today, and seeing all the people cycling into work, it seemed in my head a real luxury. Which must sound mad. But the process of going to work, having a day with your colleagues, coming back to your family, cooking, having stuff in the fridge … It sounds odd to say, but it’s the thing I’m looking forward to most. After nine years, I’ll be at home. In one place. Static.”
Harington is grateful to the show for bringing his wife into his life. Leslie played his love interest during the second and third seasons.
“I thank the show for everything. But more than anything else, I thank it for introducing me to her,” he said.
“It dawned on me, recently — and I have no idea if we will, but say me and Rose do have children. They’ll know. They’ll be able to see the genesis of their parents getting together. Which is quite a wonderful thought, really.”
He is also content with the show’s legacy.
“It’s done now. I can be proud of it,” he told the magazine. “We’ve got eight seasons, and they can sit on a bookshelf at home ’til the end of time.”