Alfie Allen Compares His ‘Game of Thrones’ & ‘Harlots’ Characters

Alfie Allen’s Game of Thrones and Harlots characters have something in common: they both died before the end of the series.

On Game of Thrones, his character, Theon Greyjoy, was one of the casualties in Season 8, Episode 3 “The Long Night,” after he swore to protect Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) during the Battle of Winterfell. Though it was clearly a futile attempt, he still tried to take out the Night King, knowing it would lead to his death (which it did).

And as Allen told TV Insider, that death was much harder to shoot than his Harlots character’s. “As an actor, I’d been living with that character for so long,” he said. “Saying goodbye to him was tough. It was a real tough moment for me playing that character as an actor, and then obviously there were tough moments for the character himself.”

One of the major differences between his two characters came from the very sexual nature of Harlots‘ Isaac Pincher. While it wasn’t “primarily one of the things that attracted [him] to the role,” the actor did acknowledge the importance of sex in the Hulu series’ world.

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“Sex within Harlots is something that can be used as a weapon,” Allen pointed out. “It empowers them, so hopefully that [comes] through with Isaac as well.”

Allen received an Emmy nomination for his work as Theon Greyjoy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

— Reporting by Kate Hahn