Sophie Turner Admits Kiss With Kit Harington Was “Vile” — On-Set Awkwardness Goes Public
Sage Matthews here, awake at 2 AM as usual, scrolling and muttering, “Of course this happened.” So yes, Sophie Turner has publicly described a kiss with former Game of Thrones costar Kit Harington as straight up vile, and no, this is not the plot twist we needed tonight.
On August 14, Sophie Turner told Seth Meyers that the upcoming horror drama The Dreadful forced her into what she called “the worst” on-screen makeout session with Kit Harington, who played her adopted brother on Game of Thrones. Sophie, now 29 and credited as both actor and producer on the film, said she actually sent Kit the script herself. His response, she recalled, was a blunt, “Yeah, I’d love to. This is going to be really f–king weird, Soph.” That message was, as Sophie admitted, an accurate take.
Turner explained that during her read-through she finally registered the awkwardness: the pages were full of “kiss, kiss, sex, kiss, sex,” and then she realized that one of those kiss lines was with someone she had spent years playing sibling to. The pair decided the material was strong enough to ignore the discomfort and move forward. Fair enough. People often sign up for difficult work when the script is good.
Except the discomfort did not stay on the page. Sophie described the first kissing scene between her character Anne and Kit’s Jago as physically nauseating, saying both actors were practically retching during the take. She ranked that moment even worse than a different harrowing shoot, when she had to perform while covered in live rats and cockroaches for her other film, Trust. That is not a sentence anyone wants to read but here we are.
Despite the gag reflex and the ethical weirdness of swapping on-screen family dynamics for romantic ones, Turner said there was no one else she could imagine in the part. Kit, who is married to their former Game of Thrones costar Rose Leslie, came on board because the role demanded something specific that he could deliver. The Dreadful is about Anne, a woman forced into a harsh, solitary life with her mother-in-law on the outskirts of town, whose life is upended when a man from her past returns.
Turner has been candid about the strain of such scenes. In a July interview with Vogue she apologized to the public, saying, “Sorry guys, it’s really weird for all of us.” That apology is as weary as the rest of us feel about celebrity revelations that make you squirm and then scroll away with a hollow chuckle. It also underscores a bigger point: actors are asked to do increasingly uncomfortable things in the name of art or box office, and then explain them on late night television while everyone else decides whether to be scandalized or indifferent.
Kit Harington and Sophie Turner have both built careers on intense drama and emotional extremes, and this episode will not exactly tarnish their résumés. It will, however, make for an awkward press cycle and some unforgettable behind-the-scenes stories. And yes, the internet will have opinions. It will also have far worse takes and even more invasive curiosity, because nothing quiets the feed like a headline that promises discomfort.
So where does this leave us? With a film that apparently asks its leads to cross a weird personal line, and two professionals who did exactly that while muttering about nausea. If you were looking for romance tips, do not ask actors who once played siblings. If you were looking for entertainment, well, The Dreadful will offer it in spades, complete with confessions about what happened when the cameras rolled.
Anyway, stay tuned — or don’t. At this point, should we even pretend to be surprised?
Sources: Celebrity Storm and E! Online, Late Night With Seth Meyers, Vogue
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
