'Game of Thrones' star Kit Harington: 7 Exclusive Photos

Kit Harington was cast in the London stage adaptation of War Horse while he was still in drama school, then landed Game of Thrones — his first major filmed role. “Every young male actor in the U.K. was going in for Thrones. I remember thinking it’s important I did something good for it,” he tells EW. “After the second audition I realized I was onto something, and if I lost the part I would be upset. You start to get a gut feeling about these things.”

As soon as he landed the coveted role of Jon Snow, Harington devoured George R.R. Martin’s novels. “I’ve always felt introverted in many ways, I think that’s why there was something they liked about me for Jon Snow,” he says. “In the book, he’s somebody living in their head, he hardly ever speaks. Which makes him quite interesting to play.”

While Harington loves performing, he finds being on talk shows and promotional events less comfortable: “I’m not a natural salesman … I very much enjoy self deprecation as a source of humor and that doesn’t always translate. I’ll put myself down and be pessimistic about a situation instead of being proud and owning it — that’s something I need to improve on.”

On the intense fan reaction to Jon Snow’s death in the season 5 finale: “I was most worried people weren’t going to buy it at all. Or they were going to watch it and go, ‘Meh, who cares? It’s not as sad as The Red Wedding, we don’t love you as much as those characters.’ There’s something inside you where you want them to be sad.”

On doing long elaborate fight scenes: “It’s like a dance, you know when you’ve missed a beat. But if you do it correctly, it’s the difference between just ‘all right’ and an epic moment.”

On death changing Jon Snow: “He needs to change. He needs to see something so terrifying that we’re now, as an audience, afraid of where Jon’s gone.”

On the world finally knowing that Jon Snow is alive: “I’m very happy this is going to be out in the open. It’s nice in Thrones to be the center of attention for a whole off season. But at the same time I’d rather not do it again!”

EW’s Game of Thrones cover story “Dead Man Talking” is now available online. Buy the issue here, or subscribe now to read the full article online.