British actor Kit Harington has explained the “fault” with the Game Of Thrones ending and said “there were mistakes made”.
The 37-year-old played Jon Snow in HBO’s fantasy epic which ended in 2019 in a way that left many fans disappointed.
Speaking to GQ Hype, Harington said: “I think if there was any fault with the end of Thrones, is that we were all so f****** tired, we couldn’t have gone on longer.
“And so I understand some people thought it was rushed and I might agree with them. But I’m not sure there was any alternative.
“I look at pictures of me in that final season and I look exhausted. I look spent. I didn’t have another season in me.”
Speaking about fan reaction, he added: “Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I think there were mistakes made, story-wise, towards the end maybe.
“I think there were some interesting choices that didn’t quite work.”
Earlier in the year Harington told entertainment website Screen Rant that a spin-off series which was “in development”, focused around his character, was now “on the shelf”.
Speaking about the show he said: “What I can tell you is it was HBO that came to me and said, ‘Would you consider this?’. My first reaction was no.
“And then I thought there could be an interesting and important story about the soldier after the war.
“I felt that there might be something left to say and a story left to tell in a pretty limited way.
“We spent a couple of years back and forth developing it. And it just didn’t… nothing got us excited enough.
“In the end, I kind of backed out and said, ‘I think if we push this any further and keep developing it we could end up with something that’s not good. And that’s the last thing we all want.’”
Speaking about what it would have been like to play Jon Snow again, he said: “Yeah. There’s a lot of baggage that goes with it, and I think that was part of the problem.
“In some ways, you need to divorce completely from this previous thing, and we’re only a few years after it.
“The role will always be just such a significant factor of my life.
“It might very well be the biggest, most important piece of work I do. I met my wife on it. I have kids from it. Have some lifelong friends from it.
“I’m recognised in the street because of it.
“(But) it was also working against what I’m trying to do, which is separate myself from (the show). By still being with it, it (would be) very hard to ask people to see you as something else.
“And it’s kind of essential to do my job, for people to come and see me and not see Jon Snow.”
Harington, who is married to his Game Of Thrones co-star Rose Leslie, also opened up about fears his looks take precedence over his talent.
“If you’ve been the young male lead in something (like Thrones), and you could argue that I got given that opportunity because of my appearance, the worry is that that’s all your worth is”, he said.
“And for me, the older I get, the more that drops away. The more I get to accept (that) no, I’m an actor.
“And I’ve been around for a while. And I’m still working. And so at some point, I have to accept that might have something to do with my talent as well.”
Read the full feature online at GQ Hype now.
