Kit Harington as reluctant leader Jon Snow (Image via HBO)
HBO’s “Game of Thrones” offers a glorious television experience for fans with each episode, but believe it or not, the show’s pilot could have been a real disaster.
The hit show’s creators, DB Weiss and David Benioff, have long admitted that their originally shot first episode went so bad that they almost gave up on the series.
In a recent interview with The Guardian, GoT star Kit Harington, who was a part of original pilot, spoke about the show’s early mishaps.
“They (Weiss and Benioff) made a lot of mistakes,” he said. “It didn’t look right, didn’t feel right, had nothing different about it.”
The 30-year-old English actor, who brings life to the “King in the North” Jon Snow, revealed that he donned a wig in the original and was asked to be clean-shaven for the part—contrary to the gritty look that fans are now accustomed to.
“We didn’t know if it was going to go, and we didn’t know if it was going to be any good,” he said. “But it was HBO, and it was American TV, so it felt like a huge deal.”
After receiving negative reactions from those who saw the pilot, the brass opted to re-cast a lot of actors, including replacing Tamzin Merchant with Emilia Clarke for the role of Daenerys Targaryen.
Harington also grew a beard and sported his now trademark long locks.
To this day, Harington says he hasn’t viewed the disastrous pilot, but it hasn’t stopped Weiss and Benioff from threatening him that they’d release the footage online.
“They say, if I ever piss them off too much, they’ll release it on YouTube,” Harington said. “Every now and then, they send me a screen grab, just as a threat.” Khristian Ibarrola /ra
RELATED STORY:
Kit Harington ‘cried’ after reading ‘Game of Thrones’ season 8 script