‘Game of Thrones’ Star Kit Harington Says Final Season Broke the Actors

Over the course of seven season, Game of Thrones has been a grueling journey of betrayal, scheming, and battling to determine who will end up on the Iron Throne. For as emotional the journey was for those of us who were watching, imagine how hard it was for the actors.

Now Jon Snow actor Kit Harington is on awaiting the release of the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones, and apparently the experience was just as rough on him as it was the rest of his co-stars on the hit HBO series.

“The last season of Thrones seemed to be designed to break us,” Harington said to GQ.

“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 fucking tiring,” added the actor. “We were sleep deprived. It was like it was designed to make you think, Right, I’m fucking sick of this. I remember everyone walking around towards 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 series has already had epic set pieces, such as the massive Battle of the Bastards, which take their tolls on the actors involved. It seems like the final season will push that to the brink.

While the actors might be a little fed up, others behind the scenes are more than satisfied with the how the series ends. During a Reddit Ask Me Anything thread, director David Nutter said that he’s happy with how the conclusion of Game of Thrones.

“I’m completely satisfied with how season 8 ends,” Nutter wrote. “I think that [the showrunners] did a tremendous job, and they took into consideration what the fans want, as well as what is right as far as storytelling is concerned. I guarantee there’s going to be lots of surprises and shocking moments, but it’s really very compelling stuff.”

But aside from an anecdote here or there, don’t expect to learn any of the secrets about the final season. Game of Thrones actor Iain Glen said the producers are taking extra precautions to keep spoilers from getting out.

“They’re absolutely paranoid now about anyone finding out anything about the series and spoiling it,” Glen shared with the BBC. “We weren’t allowed a written word on a page. Everything was accessed through iPads with different security you had to get through to access it, which caused a problem for the actors, I have to say. But we found a way, either on phones or with pads…for it to be available on set.”

The final season of Game of Thrones premieres on HBO this April.