Turner and Harington reunite in The Dreadful, awkward on-screen kiss

Sophie Turner and Kit Harington, who for eight seasons portrayed Sansa Stark and Jon Snow on Game of Thrones, have reunited on screen in the gothic horror The Dreadful, but their return comes with an unusually uncomfortable memory. Turner revealed on a late-night program that their first on-screen kiss as lovers in the film was intensely awkward because the actors view each other as siblings, a dynamic that made the intimate scenes feel “vile” and, at times, nearly unfilmable. The project, directed by Natasha Kermani, centers on a 15th-century story set during the Wars of the Roses, with Turner producing and starring opposite Harington as the male lead. The cast also features Marcia Gay Harden, Laurence O’Fuarain, and Jonathan Howard, and a release date has not yet been announced.

Turner said she recommended Harington for the lead after reading the script, despite both stars acknowledging that the romantic material between characters who are closely related on screen would be odd to film. She recalled telling him, “this is going to be really weird,” and noted that once they realized the screenplay involved “kiss, kiss, sex, kiss, sex,” the pair understood why the project would...