‘Game of Thrones’ Star Says Filming Battle of Winterfell Made Them “Want to Cry”

Game of Thrones‘ final season is expected to truly take viewers by surprise, and it sounds like it even took a toll on a few of the show’s cast members.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, the Game of Thrones cast spoke about the upcoming eighth and final season, and particularly about the climactic “Battle of Winterfell”. Maisie Williams, who plays Arya Stark on the series, revealed that she wasn’t fully prepared for how grueling the battle would be, despite being warned to begin training a full year before filming began.

“And I said, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah.’” Williams revealed. “But nothing can prepare you for how physically draining it is. It’s night after night, and again and again, and it just doesn’t stop. You can’t get sick, and you have to look out for yourself because there’s so much to do that nobody else can do… there are moments you’re just broken as a human and just want to cry.”

This sentiment from Williams was echoed by Iain Glen, who plays Ser Jorah Mormont.

“It was the most unpleasant experience I’ve had on Thrones,” Glen revealed. “A real test, really miserable. You get to sleep at seven in the morning and when you wake in the midday you’re still so spent you can’t really do anything, and then you’re back. You have no life outside it. You have an absolute f—ked bunch of actors. But without getting too method [acting] about it, on screen it bleeds through to the reality of the Thrones world.”

“Everybody prays they never have to do this again,” echoed Rory McCann, who plays The Hound.

While plot details surrounding the Battle of Winterfell still remain relatively slim – as do most details surrounding the final season – there’s definitely an indication that the series is swinging for the fences with that fight scene.

“It’s brutal,” Peter Dinklage, who stars in the series as Tyrion Lannister, explained in a previous interview. “It makes the Battle of the Bastards look like a theme park.”

Are you excited to see Game of Thrones‘ final season come together? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

The final season of Game of Thrones will debut on April 14th on HBO.