KIT Harington has been through the ringer on Game of Thrones as Jon Snow is always fighting tooth and nail to protect his beloved north.
And now it’s been revealed that the bloodiest fight of the HBO series so far – the Battle of the Bastards – was so brutal that Kit had a safe word during filming.
Camera operator Sean Savage has in the middle of the action since 2010 and admitted the ambitious show “challenged us to our limit”.
And he revealed that the epic battle scenes the show has become known for are just as gruelling as they look.
“When Jon Snow is forced to the ground and trampled and this seemingly immortal hero of ours looks like he’s close to the end, it was something Miguel Sapocknik, the director, added into the show,” explained Sean.
“It wasn’t entirely scripted like that. Kit went to ground, these stunt guys piled in and we had to have a safe word where we could call it off at any point.”
He continued: “We had to see that the light closed up on Kit’s face and at that point I just urged Kit to get off the ground to stand up again. I think you can see that it’s a true struggle.”
Kit previously revealed the ups and downs of starring in Game of Thrones – and said he needed therapy.
The actor said filming the final season left him ‘frayed’ and ‘vulnerable’.
Speaking to Variety, the Brit actor has said he had many of his own issues to deal with, while taking on the character alongside the Game of Thrones cast.
He said: “It wasn’t a very good time in my life. I felt I had to feel that I was the most fortunate person in the world, when actually, I felt very vulnerable.
“I had a shaky time in my life around there — like, I think a lot of people do in their 20s.”
The 32-year-old says that he had to reach out and get help.
He explained: “That was a time when I started therapy, and started talking to people. I had felt very unsafe, and I wasn’t talking to anyone.
“I had to feel very grateful for what I have, but I felt incredibly concerned about whether I could even f****** act.”
The actor says filming part of the hit HBO series was the ‘darkest period’ on the show and “f****** terrifying.”
It’s immense popularity meant that he couldn’t go unnoticed on the streets and started to question everything.
He said: “You get people shouting at you on the street, ‘Are you dead?’ At the same time you have to have this appearance.
“All of your neuroses — and I’m as neurotic as any actor — get heightened with that level of focus.”
The spotlight was so intense, he says, it was hard to navigate reality.
“When you become the cliffhanger of a TV show, and a TV show probably at the height of its power, the focus on you is f****** terrifying,” he says.
The self-proclaimed ‘awkward’ guy says he’s not going to be defined by his screen character. He says: “I am just a bloke and not one who is particularly good at a lot of attention.”
Although he says he is finally ready to leave Jon Snow behind him, he says the final Game of Thrones season 8 is bigger and better than ever.
“They went balls out, I think is the term,” Harington says.
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