How do you control Jon Snow, a master warrior allied with dragons? Threaten to release the unaired pilot of Game of Thrones. At least, that’s according to actor Kit Harington, who says the show's creators use it to keep him from breaking any oath to the show.
Speaking to The Guardian about the infamous unreleased pilot of the HBO series, Harington said: "They made a lot of mistakes. It didn't look right, didn't feel right, had nothing different about it.” And even though Harington hasn’t seen all of the episode, show creators DB Weiss and David Benioff have a copy they use to keep him in line. “They say, if I ever piss them off too much, they’ll release it on YouTube,” he said. “Every now and then, they send me a screengrab, just as a threat.”
So why is Harington so scared? Well, apart from the episode being “painful” to watch, as DB Weiss said, it had Harington clean-shaven and wearing a wig.
(If you’re interested in seeing the beardless Harington then check out his work in 2015 film Testament of Youth).
In the same interview, Harington was asked about how Snow will react when he finds out his new lover Daenerys Targaryen is also his aunt. “I really hope that he just nods slowly and goes, ‘Damned right’,” he joked. “Something really horribly inappropriate, and you find out Jon’s had a really sick mind the whole time. That’s the way I’d love to play it. I’ll try it for one take, anyway.”
We’ll just have to wait until season eight to find out if that reaction stays in the show.
Game of Thrones will return for a final series
