While “House of the Dragon” continues smashing viewership records for HBO ten weeks in, cementing it as one of the most-watched series in Home Box Office history, two bonafide stars of the original “Game of Thrones” saga say they still aren’t ready to return to the realm.
In new interviews promoting their latest projects, Jon Snow himself Kit Harington and mother of dragons Emilia Clarke open up about navigating their careers after “Thrones” – and explain why they can’t yet bear to watch the highly anticipated prequel.
“I just can’t watch it,” Harington told AP at the premiere of his new BBC drama “Industry” earlier this month. “I think for me, I’ve just spent too long there. I hear it’s wonderful and going really well, but I don’t think I’ll ever watch that show.”
The English actor’s candid confession reflects the immense emotional toll of inhabiting Ned Stark’s bastard son for a decade across eight epic seasons. For Clarke, who memorably led the Dothraki across the Narrow Sea as the doomed but dragon-commanding Daenerys Targaryen, similar feelings of reluctance persist.
“It’s so weird, it’s so strange,” said Clarke in a recent Variety profile, comparing the prospect of tuning into “House of the Dragon” to unexpectedly attending a high school reunion from a different graduating class.
Both Harington and Clarke’s willingness to publicly disclose these lingering aftereffects provides rare insight…