THE BEGINNING of the end, says Kit Harington, came with a haircut. "It was weird because before he even began to cut it the hairdresser asked me, 'Do you want to keep it? Do you want to sell it?' "That was very strange to me. I said, 'No, just cut it off!' So they did and when it was all done, and I could feel my neck and my hair and my whole head felt so much lighter, I did look down and think, 'Right, done. Jon Snow is somewhere on the floor."' It was not the first time that Kit had shed the trademark head of luxuriant curls that he grew each season as Game Of Thrones' beloved warrior Jon Snow. But always before, he'd known that he'd be growing it back for the next season. This time, the shearing was permanent.
Today Game Of Thrones begins its much-awaited eighth - and final - season. It is expected to draw more than a billion viewers around the world, desperate to learn which character will finally claim the coveted Iron Throne and rule over Westeros.
After nearly a decade of working, playing, and, in some cases, growing up together, the band of actors who made it one of the most successful television shows ever will be scattered.
"I'm terribly sad about it ending," Kit admits when we meet in New York the day after the show's premiere.
"The thing is, I woke up this morning not feeling that everything is all that different yet, because we were all together at the premiere last night and then a bit down the line hopefully we'll all be at some other ceremonies together. But I have said goodbye to actually being on set and that was a quite emotional experience. Usually when we finish shooting a season, the script will read 'End of Season Five' or 'End of Season Six' or whatever.
"This one just said, 'End of Game Of Thrones' and it was, like, oh ****, it's done, it's really done.
"At the very end of the shoot, there was a standing ovation and I just broke down sobbing, and there were a lot of other people there exactly the same."
Dragon lady Daenerys Targaryen is real-life close friend Emilia Clarke (Image: HBO)
Which is hardly surprising given that many of the people closest to him off set are members of the Game of Thrones cast, who have forged profound friendships over the years.
He met his wife, the actress Rose Leslie, on the show. She played Ygritte, his first love interest - who died in his arms in a battle.
Kit is also particularly close to Emilia Clarke, 32, who game plays his current love interest in the show, fearless warrior queen and Mother of Dragons Daenerys Targaryen.
Emilia is great friends with Rose too, and the three of them sometimes go out for dinner.
All of which, he adds wryly, made it more than a little awkward when he and Emilia were recently required to shoot some love scenes together.
"It's not hard to kiss her, although I used to pretend that it was," he laughs. "I'd look at her and go - he affects a disgusted snarl - 'Oh, God, I'm thrilled.' "The thing was that we were best friends over a seven-year period before we had to kiss, so it did take a while of looking at each other and laughing before we could get into it.
"There was definitely an element of weirdness if Emilia and Rose and I were having dinner in the evening, and Rose would say, 'So... how was your scene?' "And we'd say, 'Yes, well, it was good.' I
