Game of Thrones season 7: Samwell Tarly actor discusses career fears once show finishes after season 8

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Game of Thrones fans are currently going through the motions: season seven starts soon, but also marks the beginning of the inevitable end as only 13 episodes remain.

Already, some of the actors are getting itchy feet about the season eight finale, particularly John Bradley-West — Samwell Tarly — who seems slightly worried about his post-Game of Thrones career.

“I think it's going to be a difficult shift,” the actor told the Express. “It would be easier for people who have left the show who had any kind of career or experience before they came onto the show, but I didn't.

Bradley-West’s first acting job post-drama training was Game Of Thrones: “I’ve never been an actor and not been in Game of Thrones so I'm not going back to anything.

“People who come into the show after doing all sorts of work, it just becomes another job on their CV and then they go back to not being in Game Of Thrones again. I’m going into completely uncharted territory.”

Of course, many actors have thrived thanks to the HBO show, particularly the main cast. Kit Harrington has become a Hollywood star, as have Emilia Clarke and Maisee Williams. With Sam’s story being one of the series’ main events, chances are studios have noticed him.

Comparing his own life to Sam’s — the character having recently reached the Citadel to train as a Maester — Bradley-West said: “I came from a working-class background where people just didn't go into acting, they just found a job near where they lived and went into that.

“In a way when I had that first blossoming of desire to want to do this professionally that was as much a pipe dream for me as the Citadel is for Sam. You just think I'd like to do it but there's no practical path that I can see to do it.”

Game of Thrones returns tomorrow on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV. Catch up on everything we know about the upcoming season here.