Kit Harington says he 'can't watch' the 'Game of Thrones' prequel 'House of the Dragon': 'I've spent too long there'

• Kit Harington said he finds it difficult to watch "House of the Dragon."
• Harington starred in "Game of Thrones" for eight seasons as Jon Snow.
• Harington said he likely won't rewatch "Game of Thrones" either.

Kit Harington sends his well-wishes to the cast and crew of "House of the Dragon" — but the actor says that he doesn't personally tune in to the show.

Harington spent eight seasons on "Game of Thrones," which wrapped up in 2019, as Jon Snow. While promoting his new project, season three of HBO's " Industry ," the actor told the Associated Press that he had to take a break from Westeros and "House of the Dragon."

"I just can't watch it," Harington said of "House of the Dragon." "I think for me it's just I've spent too long there. And I wish them all the best, and I hope, I hear it's wonderful and going really well. But I don't think I'll ever watch that show, and I don't think I'll watch 'Game of Thrones' again for a few years."

Harington told Business Insider in August 2021 that he was planning on watching the show to support then co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik , who also worked on "Game of Thrones." However, he knew that it would be an emotional process to watch a show that reminded him of "Game of Thrones" while not being a part of it. He told Extra TV in March 2023 that he had watched some of the series, and though he "loved" it, it remained difficult to consume.

Harington isn't the only "Game of Thrones" star who's avoided "House of the Dragon." Emilia Clarke, who played Daenerys Targaryen in all eight seasons of "Game of Thrones," told Variety that she also couldn't watch the prequel .

"I just can't do it. It's so weird, it's so weird, it's so strange. It's kind of like someone saying, "Do you want to go to this school reunion that's not your year? You want to go back to that school reunion?' That's kind of how it feels. I'm avoiding it."

Harington told the Associated Press that it had taken some time to put "Game of Thrones" behind him. At this moment in his career, he said he wanted to tackle another television character — and he had been impressed with the first season of "Industry."

"It felt like the thing I wanted to do was get into doing a full character arc, rather than just an episode of this, an episode of that, or a movie arc. I wanted to do a TV character arc again."