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Game Of Thrones Is Ending 'At The Right Time,' Says Kit Harington

Though many of us aren't quite ready to say goodbye to Game of Thrones, star Kit Harington firmly believes that now is the right time to walk away from Westeros for good. 

Chatting with Digital Spy, Harington, who plays Jon Snow (real name Aegon Targaryen), explained that he's prepared to leave his character behind and move on to other projects. "Thrones is coming to the end at the right time for me, and everyone involved in it," the 30-year-old actor stated. 

But that doesn't mean he won't shed a tear or two when the proverbial curtain closes. Harington admitted that the beloved series coming to an end is quite heart-rending for the cast and crew alike. "I was exchanging emails with [showrunners] David [Benioff] Dan [Weiss] last night and we were all getting very soppy and emotional with each other."

Of course, bitterness of the show wrapping also comes with the sweetness of freedom. "It will be liberating, just the thought of having a whole year free," Harington said, referring to the time-consuming shooting schedule Game of Thrones has kept up over the years. "You shoot for six months, but half of the projects you might want to do will have started shooting before that six months is over. There's a lot of things you can't do."

Harington is ultimately "looking forward to finishing" the show, and believes that "eight years is the right amount of time" for the series to have been on air. "I wouldn't want it to go on any longer than it has," the actor added. "I have other ideas I'd like to look at producing."

One of those "other ideas" is BBC One's prestige drama Gunpowder, which Harington has taken a more active role in making. "I found the producing side of Gunpowder fascinating, I would like to do more of it. I've found it's opened up a different side of my creative brain, which I've really enjoyed," said Harington.

Game of Thrones season 8 is currently filming overseas and is expected to continue production into summer 2018, though the season may not premiere until 2019. However, the wait will be well worth it, at least according to HBO programming president Casey Bloys. "One of the hallmarks of the show has been how cinematic is it," Bloys said earlier this year. "The show has proven that TV is every bit as impressive and in many cases more so, than film. What they're doing is monumental. When you see these battles in season 7, and what I imagine season 8 will be, it's a big, big show. We've done a lot of great shows, but this one combines the complex characters we love with a huge cinematic scope. I think this is the first show to prove that can be done, and we're the first people to pay for it."

Check back with Looper for as we learn more about the upcoming season of Game of Thrones