{"id":623017,"date":"2026-06-05T17:18:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T17:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/623017\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T17:18:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T17:18:12","slug":"kit-harington-and-peter-dinklage-on-game-of-thrones-nudity-sobriety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/623017\/","title":{"rendered":"Kit Harington and Peter Dinklage on ‘Game of Thrones,’ Nudity, Sobriety"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tKit Harington<\/a> and Peter Dinklage<\/a> haven\u2019t seen each other for seven years \u2014 not since the 2019 conclusion of \u201cGame of Thrones<\/a>,\u201d the megahit HBO fantasy series that launched Harington\u2019s career and cemented Dinklage\u2019s, earning him three Emmys. But they spent the better part of a decade working together, enduring brutal conditions to tell an epic story about backstabbing monarchs, incestuous families and an endless winter \u2014 so their catchup is joyous and warm. Harington, now 39 and a series regular on HBO\u2019s \u201cIndustry,\u201d and Dinklage, 56, who recently guest starred in FX\u2019s \u201cThe Lowdown,\u201d are candid about the entertainment industry, sobriety and getting older as they reunite to discuss what they remember about making one of the greatest shows of all time.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMary Ellen Matthews for Variety<\/p>\n

\n\tKit Harington: Here\u2019s something. This is going to be painful for you.<\/p>\n

\n\tPeter Dinklage: Oh, boy. Let\u2019s embarrass the fuck out of each other.<\/p>\n

\n\tHarington: I am now the age \u2014<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: Oh, fuck, I hate this.<\/p>\n

\n\tHarington: \u2014 that you were when I first met you. My first-ever scene on camera was with you, and I remember thinking, \u201cI\u2019ve just got to be really still. That\u2019s acting for cameras. To be as still as I possibly can be, then say my lines, then go back to stillness.\u201d And in my head I\u2019m like, \u201cWhy is that guy moving so much?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: Overacting. Bad acting. Being a ham.<\/p>\n

\n\tHarington: And then I realized, no, you were just so much more experienced. I was like, \u201cJust freeze. If you freeze, nothing can go wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: In your defense, Jon Snow can be sort of a frozen character. Tyrion is a bit more fun than Mr. Killjoy. Mr. Do the Right Thing.<\/p>\n

\n\tHarington: For me, I had no idea what \u201chuge\u201d was. I didn\u2019t know what pilot season was. I knew what the Emmys were. I knew the letters \u201cHBO\u201d because I knew \u201cThe Sopranos.\u201d And I knew I was in an American TV show. That was huge, just being employed. But it was an alarming realization when it started to be a success. It was like, \u201cOK, this is good, but it\u2019s getting a bit scary now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: As soon as we left Belfast, you started to feel it more. When we\u2019d go to Spain, Croatia and these exotic locations in the warm weather \u2014<\/p>\n

\n\tHarington: I\u2019m sorry. Exotic locations? I didn\u2019t leave Belfast.<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: Oh, right. Sorry. Well, when the rest of us got to go to Spain and Croatia, it got a bit more crazy with the fans.<\/p>\n

\n\tHarington: Did you feel prepared for it?<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: My first kid was born at the end of the second season. So much of my life was changing at that time. She went to school in Ireland half the year and had an Irish accent. So while the young ones were off going around, I was getting her to school in the morning. It was such a homebody existence for me in Belfast.\u00a0My daughter is still in touch with her friends from there. I had a very different reality. I wasn\u2019t going back to London on my days off like a lot of you guys were. I was really immersing in that town.<\/p>\n

\n\tHarington: For me, in my 20s, we were just tearing it up. Everything\u2019s electric. But on top of that, being in this thing and it just goes nuclear \u2014 the reins came off at times.<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: Which is understandable. In my 20s, for a lot of us, we were struggling still. Twenties are about making mistakes, breaking hearts, getting your heart broken, fucking up. And I think mistakes are really important in life, but with you guys, all your mistakes were public knowledge.<\/p>\n

\n\tHarington: The further I get away from it, the more I realize it was a weird way of growing up. But I think we were very protected in that place. I\u2019m thankful I was in Belfast for a lot of it. I once insulted Belfast. I should make a public apology to Belfast. I don\u2019t know why I\u2019m bringing it up again, actually. I\u2019m just digging up old \u2014 I\u2019m not going to do it again. But I\u2019m now in the place that you were then, with two kids, and I love it.<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: What was the first thing you did when the show was over?<\/p>\n

\n\tHarington: I decided to go to rehab as Episode 1 [of the eighth and final season] was airing, and I was there for six weeks. I needed to get sober. I needed to get my head on straight. I was like, \u201cWait a minute, there\u2019s loads of press that needs to be done. You need to be front and center.\u201d But it was a good decision to go, \u201cActually, I\u2019m checking out. I can\u2019t do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSo I didn\u2019t see the last season. And then I decided to take a year off work to get sorted. Right as I\u2019m going to reengage with work, COVID hit. So it was this very strange period after the show ended. Massive society sledgehammers or personal sledgehammers. But it allowed me to figure out \u2014 not to be too wanky \u2014 who I was. And whether I really wanted to do this anymore, talking bluntly. I spent a lot of \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d working from a place of pain. It was the character as well, I think.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMary Ellen Matthews for Variety<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: A lot of those characters have nothing but pain.<\/p>\n

\n\tHarington: But Tyrion brought so much humor and pain to the thing. I\u2019m very proud of the work I did, but I was pulling purely from pain. One of the things I\u2019ve realized since finishing is looking at what you were doing so naturally, mixing those together. It was that joy I needed to discover post-\u201cGame of Thrones.\u201d What were the years after like for you?<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: You start to try and engineer things to get yourself out of the Tyrion box, because that\u2019s the greatest character I\u2019ve ever played, but you don\u2019t want to go right into doing that more. And people want more. Not to rail against our industry \u2014 because I get in trouble sometimes for railing against it, so I gotta choose my words carefully \u2014 but I think Tyrion, for someone my size, opened people\u2019s eyes. In that fantasy genre, most often, those characters are not really fully realized human beings. But once \u201cThrones\u201d ended, I was still getting fantasy things that were back to what it was before. Like, \u201cDamn, I thought we were out to change things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tI didn\u2019t really do a heck of a lot. I did a lot of smaller films. I started trying to make my own projects, and I haven\u2019t done something I didn\u2019t want to do since. Before \u201cThrones,\u201d there was a lot of good stuff, but there was a lot of stuff I wasn\u2019t too proud of.<\/p>\n

\n\tHarington: But you were surprised that even after \u201cThrones,\u201d there were still obstacles there.<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: I didn\u2019t become an actor to change the world. I\u2019m not a leader of any sort. People put that on you as soon as you say anything political or even personal. It can be misconstrued as speaking for everybody, and that\u2019s never my intention. It\u2019s just from my own personal vantage point.<\/p>\n

\n\tHarington: I spent a lot of time during \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d terrified about saying anything. Terrified about walking into a room with the social anxiety I had, and being asked questions that were complex and difficult and I had feelings about, but not knowing whether what I was going to say was OK. As I\u2019ve got older, I\u2019m like, \u201cI think what I think, and I believe what I believe. and I\u2019ll say what I want to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOne of my main problems is living in the end product. What the critics are going to say about it \u2014 thinking, \u201cIs this going to get nominated for something?\u201d Do you have a method, other than trying not to do it? My only tool is not being on social media. But it\u2019s one of my biggest vices.<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: Because you\u2019re a kind person. We have to care what people think, because we\u2019re sharing our souls. If you don\u2019t care what people think, then maybe you\u2019re not the kindest person. I care what my kids think. My kids dictate what choices I make now. But the joy of getting older is not caring anymore. I have my friends; I have my family. If you\u2019re pleasing everybody, maybe you\u2019re doing something wrong at the same time. Everybody\u2019s going to be a critic and troll and be icky on social media. Glad you\u2019re not on that.<\/p>\n

\n\tHarington: I\u2019m weirdly doing a lot of nudity at the moment, and sex scenes. The more I do it, the more I think, \u201cI think I should stop.\u201d I\u2019ve got to start thinking about my kids, like, \u201cWhy is Daddy always naked on-screen?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: It\u2019s OK. Nudity\u2019s good. Kids are always naked in the house. We see enough of them. It\u2019s OK \u2014 that\u2019ll be a conversation for the therapist one day.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMary Ellen Matthews for Variety<\/p>\n

\n\tHarington: They\u2019re going to have to watch me and their mom, [\u201cGame of Thrones\u201d star Rose Leslie].<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: My kids just watched \u201cThrones\u201d this past year. <\/p>\n

\n\tHarington: How was that?<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: My 8-year-old son was really into it. He loves all the dark arts. He writes scary stories. He\u2019s a future Stephen King.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt did bring up a lot of memories. To see it through their eyes was wild. I\u2019m going to do this new \u201cAlien\u201d show this fall, and it\u2019s my son\u2019s favorite show. That\u2019s one of the reasons I said yes. Like, \u201cI\u2019m going to be such a hero in his eyes.\u201d I told him and he was like, \u201cWhat? Don\u2019t fuck up my favorite show, Dad.\u201d Because it\u2019s going to take him out of it. I didn\u2019t think about that. I\u2019m going to be a bit of reality in his escape.<\/p>\n

\n\tHarington: That\u2019ll last only a moment, though. Then he\u2019ll realize he gets to go on set, and he\u2019ll love it. I\u2019ve also found something weird about parenting: I used to hate being infantilized on set. I felt like I was treated like a little child. I fucking love it now. You go from looking after the kids at home \u2014 you\u2019re like their servant, carrying things, \u201cIs this fine for you, sir?\u201d \u2014 and then you get to set and someone goes, \u201cWould you like a cup of tea?\u201d And you almost cry. You\u2019re like, \u201cYes. Thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: \u201cYou\u2019re asking me?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHarrington: \u201cCan I get you dressed now?\u201d \u201cYes, please.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: \u201cOh, you\u2019re gonna tie my shoelaces for me? Thank you. Because I do that at home all the time.\u201d Yeah, it\u2019s quite magical.<\/p>\n

\n\tHarington: So I watched \u201cThe Lowdown.\u201d You were in that show for one episode, but from the moment you walked onto camera to the moment you left, I entirely bought and believed your entire history as that character. I don\u2019t know whether it\u2019s preparation on your part, whether it\u2019s something you just intrinsically have as an actor, but whenever I watch you, I know this person\u2019s whole story.<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: With that gig, which was really fun, I went to Tulsa for a week and came into a show that was already going for six months. Everybody knows each other. But Ethan Hawke, who I had known for 35 years \u2014 he was the first famous person my age that I knew and became friends with \u2014 he\u2019s the lead of that show. So I think what you\u2019re seeing is that history reflected, him and I. We\u2019re older now, and that whole episode was all about our past, about a mutual friend. We already had that built in. It felt so natural and easygoing. My favorite filmmakers are Cassavetes and his friends, just getting together and making a movie, which has become rare. And on that set in Tulsa, it felt like it did back in the old days.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s like the early days of \u201cThrones.\u201d We bonded. A lot of it had to do with being out in the rain together, not in a studio. Nobody fussing with us. And we had the luxury of a decade together.<\/p>\n

\n\tHarington: At the time we were like, \u201cThis is the cheapest show.\u201d A tent with one heater, and everyone\u2019s freezing. But looking back, it\u2019s exactly that that made it what it was.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMary Ellen Matthews for Variety<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: We also didn\u2019t have a separate tent for [the main actors]. We were all in there like, \u201cHow you doing, man? You speak English?\u201d There was no pecking order.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIndustry\u201d \u2014 did you think you were going to do another TV show after \u201cThrones\u201d? How did that come about?<\/p>\n

\n\tHarington: I decided I didn\u2019t want to do any other TV characters for a while. Then I turned and said to my manager, \u201cI feel like I\u2019m ready to take on a character arc again. I miss it.\u201d \u201cIndustry\u201d is one that I\u2019d been watching. And the writers [Mickey Down and Konrad Kay], when I met them, reminded me a lot of [\u201cGame of Thrones\u201d creators] David Benioff and Dan Weiss. And I came in and played this character that had a lot of pain there, but there\u2019s a lot of humor. I was like, \u201cThis is the kind of thing I\u2019ve been looking for, in the shape I\u2019ve been looking for it.\u201d The trouble for me with Jon Snow was that I couldn\u2019t, for many years, be lighter.<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: It\u2019s a heavy cloak. There\u2019s nothing worse than an actor complaining, but Spain was very hot, and I often would raise my hand going, \u201cIf Tyrion\u2019s so smart, why is he wearing these clothing in this 100 degree weather?\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHarington: Do you remember we had those cold vests?<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: Yeah, the tubes that ran through.<\/p>\n

\n\tHarington: And an ice thing you\u2019d plug in.<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: I was like, \u201cNo, thank you,\u201d for a week. I was like, \u201cI\u2019m going to suffer.\u201d And then at the end I was like, \u201cNo way,\u201d because everybody else was nodding off because they felt so comfortable. Rory [McCann, who played The Hound] especially. Jesus Christ. He was under a lot of stuff.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat you said about that arc is really fascinating. Starting from A, going to Z, and they\u2019re a completely different character. To have [Jaime Lannister] push a little kid out the window and then later on you love him \u2014\u00a0it\u2019s just fascinating to me. That\u2019s the epitome of our show. He tries to kill a kid, and he\u2019s a hero later. That\u2019s how complicated narrative can be.<\/p>\n

\n\tHarington: With \u201cIndustry,\u201d it afforded me to come in for one season, play a more comedic character, and then the next season really understand him and get deeper and play tragicomic. The trouble with \u201cThrones\u201d \u2014 not trouble, it was a glorious thing, but I didn\u2019t have the push-the-kid-out-the-window moment. Jon is good from the word \u201cgo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: The rest of us got to howl at the moon a bit more than Jon Snow did.<\/p>\n

\n\tDo you keep in touch?<\/p>\n

\n\tHarington: With the [\u201cGame of Thrones\u201d] cast? With Emilia [Clarke], yes, because she\u2019s just down the road. But there\u2019s an element of school leavers to it. We finished the thing, the magic is gone and everyone has to separate. But I do text John [Bradley] and Richard [Madden], and I\u2019m still in touch with Alf [Allen].<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: I\u2019ve been told sometimes by friends, \u201cText me more, man. Be a better friend.\u201d With kids and stuff, you let time go by.<\/p>\n

\n\tHarington: But I think we were all quite desperate \u2014 we just had to get on with life. We had so much time together that actually, we needed some [space].<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: We still have all those AI photos online of all us together at barbecues. Good to see you, man.<\/p>\n

\n\tHarington: Love you.<\/p>\n

\n\tDinklage: Love you.<\/p>\n

\t\tProp styling and art direction: Shawn Patrick Anderson\/Acme Studios; Assistant prop styling: Joseph Bell\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kit Harington and Peter Dinklage haven\u2019t seen each other for seven years \u2014 not since the 2019 conclusion…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":623018,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121794,6491,96,3892,3894,47329,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-623017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-actors-on-actors","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-game-of-thrones","tag-kit-harington","tag-peter-dinklage","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=623017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623017\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/623018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=623017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=623017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=623017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}