Since being cast as Jon Snow for Game of Thrones, Kit Harington has appeared in a fair share of movies — his latest being Brimstone, a Western directed by Martin Koolhoven. While promoting the film, the looming ending of Game of Thrones was brought up, as it is to be expected, and the actor had a few things to say on the subject.
In an interview with Moviefone, Kit Harington expressed his feelings towards the lack of source material now that the show is caught up with it — in particular how this has affected him as an actor, as he is for the first time unaware of the fate of his character:
“It’s just amazing, in some ways, having no book to go on, because the scripts come through and you’re completely in the dark about what they’re going to do. Believe me, I just finished season seven, and I am already counting down the days until I get the season eight scripts. Everyone’s been wondering how it’s going to end, and what’s going to happen right from the get-go, and theorizing about it. It’s really exciting to me not knowing, genuinely having no idea where it’s going to end, what they [David Benioff & D.B. Weiss] have got in their heads, and being the first to find out.”
Finally, Harington was asked to elucidate his feelings on Jon Snow and his character arc:
“I sort of know where he is now. Next season [the eighth] will be next season, he might go through a big change, I don’t know. He’s dear to me. I’ve lived with him for so long. I think I’ve come into a place of feeling quite emotional about him, actually, knowing that I’m not going to get to go back to him after next year. I’m really trying to just take stock of having lived this sort of dual life with this character, and being through so much with this character. It’s been a strange journey, but I’ll always be fond of it.”
It’s nice to know we the fans are not the only ones who become attached to these characters, and that actors such as Kit Harington do feel an special affinity for his. Indeed, he seems to wonder as much as we do what lies ahead for Jon Snow.
Hoderp!
The Kit in the North!
I’m so glad he’s back to doing interviews and talking freely. I really missed his interviews after season 5. It was torture having to listen to all the “is JS dead” questions.
Obviously, I’m just as curious about Jon’s fate as Kit is. I hope Jon and Ghost of are among the survivors and I want to see Jon’s reaction to his parentage.
Here is the spoiler for you Kit ,you don’t need scripts for season 8 to know this
“I sort of know where he is now. Next season [the eighth] will be next season, he might go through a big change, I don’t know. He’s dear to me. I’ve lived with him for so long.”
We’ve lived with these characters for so long as well, so they are dear to me and all GoT fans too. It’s going to be very emotional at the end of season 8 regardless of the outcome. I assume the “big change” Kit is alluding to would be finding out about his Targaryen roots.
I don’t really want to see any characters die by the end other than Cersei, Qyburn, the Mountain, and the Walkers, but I know that’s a pipe dream.
I love Kit and his interviews. It’s always good to hear what he has to say, even when he’s not giving anything away. ?
I, like a previous commenter, hope John and Ghost make it. I’ll also add Arya to that. I really love her, too, and want their reunion.
Kit does kinda spoil that Jon survives S7, not that anybody would expect otherwise lol.
Flayed Potatoes,
After having waited for so long, I only wish for the reveal to be meaningful and impactful to Jon.
ghost of winterfell,
Imagine if Jon actually died in season 7 though? LOL….Holy crap that would be the shocker of all shockers…and probably cause a fan revolt of epic proportions. I’m giving myself a bit of a laugh just thinking about it.
ghost of winterfell,
I agree with you. And the reveal comes hand in hand with Stark reunions to me, so I hope those are just as meaningful with lovely Stark themes from Ramin and tears lol.
Sometimes I can’t believe we’re finally getting confirmation about theories/predictions we’ve had for years. It feels amazing.
Ah Kit my love!He is so thougtful in his interviews.I can’t believe they only have one more season to go.I’m gonna miss Jon so much.And as always I’ll keep praying to all the gods that he survives lol.
Sometimes actors comment on not wanting to be typecast, but Kit’s comments on playing Jon and the experience makes me think that at times they may seek out similar roles in an attempt to “get it back” in a way. Occasionally it appears to work pretty well. It could be difficult to find something as big and popular as this role for Kit as a main character on a multiple times best drama.
Jenny,
I love that he feels an emotional connection to this character. It says good things about him imo 🙂
I also like to hear that Kit enjoys playing Jon Snow. Seems like so many actors with famous roles get frustrated and tired of playing the same character a lot. Almost like it’s some kind of burden for them. It’s refreshing to hear Kit will always be fond of playing Jon Snow.
JON LIVES! Man, I was so worried about David Benioff’s marriage. Happy it will survive until at least season 8. Though, we don’t know if Arya lives so GRRM’s marriage is still up in the air.
Mr Derp,
I would have been a part of that fan revolt, that’s one way to make people stop watching the show lol.
Flayed Potatoes,
Yeah it’s awesome to finally finally get all the answers! Now I am mostly curious about the third twist that D&D were talking about 🙂 .
ygritte,
I know he always understands Jon you can see it in every answer that he gives.One of the best castings for sure.And it looks like they both have gone in a journey.As Jon has gotten more confident through the years so has Kit and it shows.
i hope people cover spoilers
I tiptoe around here:
“I sort of know where he is now. Next season [the eighth] will be next season, he might go through a big change, I don’t know.”
I wonder what he means by big change?!?!? what could It be
PS: I love you Jon. And Kit.
Dee Stark,
I know what it is (at least I think I do, remembering the spoilers), but I won’t tell you 😉
Don’t worry, it’s a good thing!
So you really know nothing, Jon Snow?
Shy Lady Dragon,
oh nooo
too many spoilers hahaha
im EXCITEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
That’s the dearest he’s ever sounded towards Jon. Love it. I’m with you, Kit. It’s been amazing to see how much he’s done with his character through the seasons.
Very true; I can see expesive group therapy for distressed fans! but while Ill miss the show, usually Im less emotional about a show than I am finishing a gret book. Afterwards its days before I can get the book out of my head) But along with the show,It know I’ll miss all the speculation here about the episodes and being able to discuss them thorougly. You all have been a part of my life, and i wonder if this site will continue for a while, just to keep the discussion of the whole show! that would be cool
The end of the series is going to be so sad
Jenny,
Yep, understanding and relating to the character is what helped make him a perfect casting for the role. I like what you said about a journey because I also do feel like we have seen not only Jon grow through the seasons but Kit himself. It has been a joy to watch (for KH fans ) because one can tell the guy puts his all into it, takes it pretty seriously in order to give his best. Even though, in the beginning was a bit wet behind the ears, understandably, yet very earnest 🙂
If Arya doesn’t make it, GRRM’s marriage will be the least of their problems. Between all of the viewers and readers who adore Arya, and Maisie W’s 1.5 million+ Instagram/Twitter followers, the showrunners wouldn’t be able to show their faces in public without getting booed and hissed.
Narratively, the entire book and TV series would be reduced to a time-wasting exercise in nihilism if the little girl who endured so many traumas and somehow retained her moral compass in spite of it all, just winds up expiring at the end.
Ten Bears,
Given that Arya is one of the main characters, she’ll be there until the climax. Now, whether she survives the climax or not, I don’t know: but too much of the story comes from the Series_1!Arya -> Present!Arya. It’s the same reason why Jon couldn’t “stay dead.”
Still, no one character needs to be around for the denouement!
My bet is that there will be a lot of fans who hate the ending, regardless of what that ending is. If this is anything like Lost, Battlestar Galactica or Harry Potter, then it will be a lot of:
Poster A: The ending sucked! The writer(s) did not understand the story as well as we fans do!!!
Poster B: I agree! All real fans know that the ending should have been XXX!!
Poster A: What?!? That’s even worse than what the writer(s) did! Every real fan knows that the ending should have been YYY!!!
Poster C: The only thing either of you have right is that the ending sucked! You are just as bad as the writer(s) is (are)! The real ending should have been ZZZ!!!
😀
Wimsey,
I must have been the most boring Harry Potter fan ever! I had read the books and watched the movies, then I was talking about them only with my friends and liked the ending.
Wimsey,
Don’t forget the ending of the Sopranos. That pissed people off something fierce!
The King in the North!
I don’t think any other actors have matured in their craft Kit and Sophie. They’ve taken big steps the past few seasons.
Looking forward to season 7.
Two predictions: the wall comes down and something happens to one of the dragons.
Ahem. This is the Internet, so obviously: not a real fan!!!!
😉
Yeah, there is another one!
I read somewhere that the 4 of the 5 people still paying attention to Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series were irked by the ending of that, too. (Probably right after I typed it, in fact.)
Indeed, I want to see the surviving members of Pink Floyd do a cameo as a group of NW troubadours when that happens.
And I think that Drogon….. will get…. a belly rub.
Reading this interview makes me think hes gonna know of the true parentage only at the ending of this season.. the way Kit mentions ‘he could change’ in the next season makes me think of this. How this new information could affect him or his important decisions to come, etc.. I’m super excited because it makes me think about how important the RLJ thing will be for the climax (I hope so!) and intertwined with the very ice and fire theme, the true essence of the magic in Westeros.
I suspect that what the truly important thing will be for Jon is not who his parents are, but who they were not. The fact that Ned Stark choose public dishonor to save one little boy should have a huge impact on Jon, and this might be a major factor in whatever big decisions Jon has to make at the end. The “who” of Jon’s parents could have a bigger effect on Daenerys: after all, her brother risked public disgrace and worse because he thought that something was more important than that.
I cannot help but to suspect that the “bittersweet” aspect of the denouement is going to be the main characters having to live with the public dishonor of privately honorable deeds.
The whole public vs private dishonor thing, for me, is reflective of the contrast between Ned and Jaime – Jaime refuses to finish off Ned in 105 because it wouldn’t have been “clean” to kill a man already down following an attack from someone else; Ned finishes off Arthur Dayne following Howland’s back-stabbing. And yet, the way things are presented, Ned is the most honorable man in Westeros and Jaime himself describes his own honor as “beyond repair”.
As for Jon finding out the truth, I wonder if uncovering the identity of his mother will be worth the cost – the knowledge that Ned Stark, the man he has looked up to his entire life and tried to emulate, is not his biological father. Very much bittersweet.
Alba Stark,
That is a really good contrast. Of course, it seems that Jaime and Ned have the exact opposite feelings about “private honor, public shame.” Jaime seems almost proud of the fact that he is vilified for his action. Ned seems to have carried a shame about the whole thing to his death.
To this end, I would expect Jon to follow Ned’s path. That is, I expect the ending to make it clear that Jon is going to have deep regrets about what he had to do to save (part of) the world for the rest of his life.
Clob,
Kit has also talked about being Type Cast and how he doesn’t want to be a sword wielding protagonist in movies so he goes for other movies now like Brimstone where his role is quite controversial. That doesn’t mean that he won’t always love Jon though but maybe he feels no other sword wielding Protagonist could ever compare to him.
So, does this mean roles as a sword-wielding supporting character, or a sword-wielding antagonist, or a sword-wielding incidental character?
Wimsey,
I saw him recently in Testament of Youth expecting to see Jon Snow going off to fight in the First World War, however I must admit, I didn’t think that for one minute and I really enjoyed the film. He was clean shaven, hair slightly shorter and dressed in early 20th century costume. A heart breaking film about the futility of war based on the diaries of Vera Brittain.
Carole H,
I didn’t know about that film! But, yes, WWI makes a perfect setting for heartbreaking futility. That probably was the most awful war ever for the soldiers involved. I actually like it when I see actors like Harrington or Dan Radcliffe go for smaller films with very different types of roles from their “big” ones. It does show that they are actively committed to challenging themselves and not content to rest on laurels.
Wimsey,
huh? anytime someone has referenced her brother to her, Daenarys has reacted warmly to the idea of him risking it all for love. she doesnt seem to give a flying F about “public honor/dishonor”. Bittersweet ending might just be something less dramatic. After all, even if those two survive, they wouldve lost many allies and friends. Bittersweet indeed.