Kit Harington never expected that one of his most awkward acting challenges would come years later Game of Thrones ended.
Talking with former co-star Peter Dinklage for Variations Actors on Actors, Harington admitted that they filmed romantic scenes with Sophie Turner in their new horror film The terrible one felt downright “gross” after spending years playing siblings/cousins on HBO’s fantasy hit.
“It was weird,” admitted the 39-year-old actor.
Turner, who also served as a producer on the film, was initially unaware of how many explicit scenes there were when she first asked Harrington to join the cast.
“She sent me the script and I said, ‘Sophie, there’s a lot of us working on it,'” Harington recalled. “She hadn’t seen it. She just said, ‘Yeah, Kit would be good for this part’.”
The situation felt especially strange because the actors essentially grew up together while filming Game of Thrones. Harington explained that he has “knew [Turner] since she was a child” and considers her “a younger sister”.
Despite his hesitation, Harrington ultimately signed on.
“We did it. It was ugly, but it was fine,” he insisted. “She’s a great actress. I know we all know that, but she was a kid when she [started on Game of Thrones]. She’s phenomenal!”
Turner has previously admitted that she had a similar reaction after revisiting the script. Speaking on Late Night with Seth Meyers last year, she recalled suddenly noticing all the romantic scenes and thinking, “oh shoot, that’s my brother.”
Still, both actors agreed that the project was too good to pass up, even if it made for some very uncomfortable shooting days.
