Game of Thrones Director Used Kit Harington's Worst Fear Against Him in Battle For The Bastards

The Battle of the Bastards episode of Game of Thrones was an epic masterpiece, but its success wasn't just rooted from the magic of CGI. As the featurette revealed, the scene used a lot of live-action action, choreographed stunts, and well-trained horses. The excellent performances of the actors --Kit Harington, Iwan Rheon, Sophie Turner, Kristofer Hivju-- also made the episode unforgettable, so it's no surprise when the episode quickly reached the top of IMDB's Top 100 Episodes of All TV Series.

One of the highlights of the epic battle is the minute-long gory shot of Jon Snow being crushed by a pile of dead bodies, and viewers will never forget that thanks to the actor's genuine fear.

It turns out that Kit Harington's greatest fear is being buried alive, and for the sake of a brilliant performance, Game of Thrones director Mighel Sapochnik used it against him.

Sapochnik told the Hollywood Reporter:

"Kit had mentioned to me that his worst fear is being buried alive, so I exploited that to its fullest — and being the amazing game player that he is, he let me.

Thematically, it represented a rebirth.

We actually shot a little section where he just gives up, the light disappears above him and for 30 seconds he's in darkness and he closes his eyes, then something sparks and he starts to fight back."

The director also praised Harington for letting him make the actor feel uncomfortable:

"I've been lucky enough to do two major sequences with him and he's not only really really good at what he does, but he's got humility, a sense of humor and a work ethic that is like a breath of fresh air for a director. I wish I could work with him on everything."

That was definitely one of the most intense scenes I've seen, and when Kit was buried beneath the pile of bodies, it actually seemed like the character was suffocating. It made me wonder how the hell he would escape that.

The Game of Thrones Season 6 finale will air Sunday, June 26 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.

Read: Sophie Turner Speaks Up On Sansa's Final Confrontation With Ramsay And Her "First [Spoiler]"

Read: Game of Thrones: Battle of the Bastards is Now IMDB's Highest Rated TV Episode