No one is safe on any given episode of Game of Thrones. But actor John Bradley assures us that fan favorite Sam Tarly is probably in it for the long haul.
Samwell Tarly is one of those characters on Game of Thrones who is instantly relatable. We saw a bumbling, sheepish kind of guy who just couldn’t find his place in the world. But he was never someone to give up on. The fans always rooted for him, and cheered when he became the first man in centuries to kill a White Walker. Now, we’re heading into Season 7, and who knows what kind of adventures are about to unfold. One thing we want is for Sam to be kept safe, and actor John Bradley feels the same way.
Bradley took some time to speak with podcaster Emily Dean for her Walking the Dog show. She interviews people as the two of them walk her dog. She and Bradley discussed a number of things, but naturally brought it around to Thrones chat. Sam has been with us since Season 1, and so far has stuck around. In a show where characters can be snipped in an instant, Bradley assures us Sam is more than likely in it for the long haul. “The thing about Sam is, if he’s still around at this stage, you do suspect that there is gonna be a point to keeping him around,” he tells Dean.
Bradley also discussed his rapport with Kit Harington (Jon Snow). The two of them bonded over the fact that Thrones has become the first major gig for both of them. “I’d like to think that our real-life relationship…does lend itself to a certain chemistry on screen.,” he says.
We also learned that this scene from Season 1’s “Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things” was written towards the end of the production cycle, just because the writers loved Bradley and Harington’s chemistry so much.
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You can check out more from the interview on our sister site Winter is Coming, or listen to more of Emily Dean’s Walking the Dog podcast here.
Game of Thrones returns to HBO on July 16th.