Kit Harington Was Exhausted by the End of Game of Thrones

It’s been over five years since Game of Thrones aired its finale, but Kit Harington is still getting questions about the HBO hit. You might assume he has mostly fond memories—he met his wife, Rose Leslie, on the show, and for a time rallied for a sequel series centered around his character, Jon Snow. (It’s since been scrapped.) But in a new interview, he confesses that by the end of season eight, he was just plain exhausted.

Speaking with British GQ (via Variety) in an article that mentions some of the off-set annoyances his Game of Thrones fame brought him (having to keep his curly locks a certain length; people shrieking “You know nothing!” at him in the street), Harington said the show had to end when it did for one big reason.

“I think if there was any fault with the end of Thrones, is that we were all so fucking tired, we couldn’t have gone on longer,” he explained.

He’s also well aware of the fan disappointment that still swirls around the show’s final season. “I understand some people thought it was rushed and I might agree with them,” he said. “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.”

Regarding the finale, he told the magazine, “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.” (The article also includes Harington’s reminiscence about what it was like checking into rehab just as the finale was about to air: “I went in and everyone loved Thrones; I came out and everyone hated it … I thought, What the fuck is going on?!”)

While Harington does talk about the Jon Snow spin-off that never was (“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’”), he also, very reasonably, said he’s ready to put the character in the past now: “It’s kind of essential to do my job, for people to come and see me and not see Jon Snow.”

As for his brief Marvel Cinematic Universe stint, he’s actually not opposed to seeing his Eternals character Dane Whitman return, as unlikely as that seems: “If Marvel calls, you gotta do it.”

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.