Kit Harington has joked about reuniting with his Game Of Thrones co-star Richard Madden in superhero film Eternals, saying it was written into his contract that they would have limited screen time together.
The pair played on-screen brothers in the long-running fantasy series, but only appeared in the first two episodes of the first series together, before Jon Snow (Harington) and Robb Stark (Madden) had to go their separate ways.
The pair have finally worked together again on the Marvel superhero film, in which they star opposite Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek and Gemma Chan.
Harington joked to the PA news agency: “I have it in my contract that I only work with Richard if I’m on screen for a very limited amount of time with him.
“It was really great actually. We’ve been friends for a long time, we’ve come up in the industry together.
“It’s special working with someone who, I remember those years ago, we were 21 starting Thrones, and we were just so excited about it, and just looking back, we were just little kids and then being in Camden on a Marvel set together, it doesn’t leave you, how special that is.”
Madden also joked it was in his contract that the pair would have limited scenes together, adding: “Also, he wasn’t allowed to make eye contact with me on set. Only kidding.
“We wanted more. We had such a brief moment together. But every ten years, we’ll do something together, so we’ve got another 10 years.
“I think it was the first two episodes of season one, we were together in Game of Thrones, and then not again until now.”
Harington, who found global fame in the epic Sky Atlantic drama, said Game Of Thrones had an impact on his decision to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
He said: “I think for years – for nine years to be precise – I worked on Game Of Thrones, and that ran in tandem with the MCU.
“When I met up with (Marvel boss) Kevin Feige to talk about this a couple of years prior to actually getting the offer for this role, we talked about that, the fact that we’ve been doing these two things at the same time.
“And I think that’s really exciting for me, that I left one behind and have joined the other. That was a big pull for me.”
– Eternals is out now in UK cinemas.