Kit Harington Gets Emotional Discussing ‘Game of Thrones’ Farewell

Jon Snow’s Kit Harington is “quite emotional” over the eighth and final season of HBO’s Game of Thrones.

As popular fantasy drama series Game of Thrones begins to close its final chapter, Kit Harington admitted during an appearance on BBC Radio 2 that it has been a very emotional time for him, the actor reflecting on the final days that he stepped into the world of Westeros and the shoes of his onscreen counterpart Jon Snow.

“It’s just been this amazing journey. I kinda said to them on my wrap speech that it’s always been more than a job. They were a family and it was my life. I’ve loved every minute of it. I’ve been quite emotional all last week thinking about having finished it,” Harington said.

The series, which first debuted in 2011, officially finished filming its eighth and final season on Friday, July 6, with the final scenes taking place at the set known to be King’s Landing, the largest city in the Seven Kingdoms.

While Harington is far from the first GoT actor to grow emotional when thinking about the series’ inevitable end, Game of Thrones holds special meaning for the actor. Not only was the series his first on-screen credit, but it is also how he met his wife, Rose Leslie, whom he married earlier this month in Scotland.

“I think that’s the really special thing about it is that we met on this show and here we are seven years down the line back here promoting season seven. I mean, it’s mad. It’s such a special thing. I’m so privileged,” Harington told Entertainment Tonight in 2017.

The 31-year-old actor and Leslie had played onscreen love interests during the HBO series’ second, third, and fourth seasons. As Leslie has gone on to have roles in Luther and The Good Fight, Game of Thrones has also opened doors for Harington, including Pompeii, How to Train Your Dragon, and 7 Days In Hell. Despite the success it has already brought him, the actor said that he does plan on moving away from his iconic character now that the series is ending.

“I’d like to step away and enjoy the obscurity, cut my hair, make myself less recognizable as the character, and go do and some other things with a completely new look and tone,” Harington told Entertainment Weekly. “Short-short. The beard will be harder to get rid of — I quite like the beard. I like having the long hair and beard both, but it will be like ritualistic thing. I can’t go into my next role looking the same. This role was brilliant, but I’ll need to get rid of Jon Snow.”

Game of Thrones, which is set to premiere its final season sometime in 2019, recently scored 22 nominations for the 70th Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, and Outstanding Drama Series.