Game of Thrones: Ser Davos Actor Liam Cunningham Says Season 8 Is an ‘Honorable’ Ending

With the highly-anticipated final season of HBO’s Game of Throne fast approaching, Davos Seaworth actor Liam Cunningham spoke with IGN at the TCA winter press tour about the decision to end the series after 8 seasons.

“I get asked all the time, ‘What the hell are you guys thinking? You could run Game of Thrones forever.’ If you want to stay cool, and the show is cool, the best way to stay cool is to not overstay your welcome,” Cunningham explained. “It would be dishonorable to stay on longer than we should. There’s a portion of me that will miss it dearly, and it will probably read Liam ‘Game of Thrones’ Cunnigham on my headstone. But it was time to get out and wrap up that story… People deserve the end of that story and to not drag it out just because there’s a book to be made. I think it’s very honorable what they’re doing.”

Cunningham was at TCA promoting his new science-thriller series, called The Hot Zone. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name, the series centers on Army scientist Dr. Nancy Jaax (Julianna Margulies), who risks her life to stop a deadly Ebola outbreak from spreading in the United States in 1989. Cunningham plays Wade Carter, a scientific recluse with a mysterious past. The Hot Zone is set to drop on May 27, 2019.

In other Game of Thrones news, HBO’s programming chief Casey Bloys – who was also at TCA – said that fans will be “really really happy” with the ending, according to Deadline. And be sure to check out our Season 8 teaser trailer breakdown right here.

The final season of Game of Thrones premieres on HBO on Sunday, April 14, 2019.

and Daenerys made off with an army of 8,000 Unsullied soldiers after she turned her dragons loose on the slave masters of Astapor, leaving scorched earth and crackled bodies in her wake. DRACARYS!”,”height”:720,”width”:1280,”url”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2018\/09\/11\/12-1536685649056.jpg”,”styleUrl”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2018\/09\/11\/12-1536685649056_{size}.jpg”,”credit”:””,”objectRelationName”:””,”objectRelationUrl”:””,”albumName”:”The 25 Best Game of Thrones Episodes”,”relativePosition”:15,”albumTotalCount”:26},{“caption”:”11: \u0022The Laws of Gods and Men\u0022 (Season 4) – Tyrion Lannister stood trial in \u201cThe Laws of Gods and Men,\u201d unjustly accused of regicide, watching his loved ones betray him as his own sister blamed him for the death of her son. Star Peter Dinklage delivered one of the show\u0027s most powerful scenes as a convicted Tyrion spit poison and unleashed years of pent-up hatred at everyone in the court. Tyrion would then demand a trial by combat and – well – the rest is history. Nothing would ever be the same for the Lannisters, as Tyrion\u2019s future would involve exile\u2026and working for the \u201cenemy.\u201d”,”height”:720,”width”:1280,”url”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2018\/09\/11\/11-1536685649059.jpg”,”styleUrl”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2018\/09\/11\/11-1536685649059_{size}.jpg”,”credit”:””,”objectRelationName”:””,”objectRelationUrl”:””,”albumName”:”The 25 Best Game of Thrones Episodes”,”relativePosition”:16,”albumTotalCount”:26},{“caption”:”10: \u0022The Door\u0022 (Season 6) – Hodor\u2019s sacrificial demise in Season 6\u2019s \u201cThe Door\u201d gave us the ultimate Game of Thrones two-for. Not only does it stand as one of the show\u2019s trademark great and gruesome deaths, but it also opened the \u201cdoor\u201d to a whole new world of time-shifting, providing answers about Hodor\u2019s confounding timespace-looped origin while also cluing us in on some of the real ramifications of Bran\u2019s greenseeing\/warging powers. Veteran LOST director Jack Bender helmed this episode, his first ever Game of Thrones chapter, and infused it with nightmarish intensity.”,”height”:720,”width”:1280,”url”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2018\/09\/11\/10-1536685649064.jpg”,”styleUrl”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2018\/09\/11\/10-1536685649064_{size}.jpg”,”credit”:””,”objectRelationName”:””,”objectRelationUrl”:””,”albumName”:”The 25 Best Game of Thrones Episodes”,”relativePosition”:17,”albumTotalCount”:26},{“caption”:”9: \u0022The Mountain and the Viper\u0022 (Season 4) – In \u0022The Mountain and the Viper,\u0022 Daenerys discovered Jorah\u0027s betrayal and banished him while a newly confident Sansa donned a striking new black dress. But what everyone remembers the most is the final, jaw-dropping — and head-popping — 10 minutes featuring the fight between Oberyn Martell and Gregor \u0022The Mountain\u0022 Clegane… a fight that almost went the way many viewers hoped until the last few seconds when Oberyn got caught monologuing and paid the painful price. Proof that George R. R. Martin probably would have had Count Rugen kill Inigo Montoya had he written The Princess Bride.”,”height”:720,”width”:1280,”url”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2018\/09\/11\/9-game-of-thrones-the-mountain-and-the-viper-1536688137104.jpg”,”styleUrl”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2018\/09\/11\/9-game-of-thrones-the-mountain-and-the-viper-1536688137104_{size}.jpg”,”credit”:””,”objectRelationName”:””,”objectRelationUrl”:””,”albumName”:”The 25 Best Game of Thrones Episodes”,”relativePosition”:18,”albumTotalCount”:26},{“caption”:”8: \u0022The Winds of Winter\u0022 (Season 6) – With one of the most suspenseful and mercilessly explosive sequences on the show to date, \u0022The Winds of Winter\u0022 wonderfully paid off a two-season storyline that had started to drag. Cersei, choosing violence like she loves to do, purged King\u0027s Landing of just about every named character (including, unfortunately, her last remaining child) and ascended to the Iron Throne with Qyburn as her Hand. Meanwhile, Daenerys finally set sail for Westeros, with a larger force than ever now under her control. And on top of that, it was solidified that Arya\u0027s two-season arc over in Braavos was truly over via a throat slit, a gurgle, and some pies, as she returned to Westeros with a new bag of tricks and wiped out the entire Frey male line. All in all, one of the best season finales the show\u0027s ever done.”,”height”:720,”width”:1280,”url”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2018\/09\/11\/8-game-of-thrones-the-winds-of-winter-header-1536685649070.jpg”,”styleUrl”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2018\/09\/11\/8-game-of-thrones-the-winds-of-winter-header-1536685649070_{size}.jpg”,”credit”:””,”objectRelationName”:””,”objectRelationUrl”:””,”albumName”:”The 25 Best Game of Thrones Episodes”,”relativePosition”:19,”albumTotalCount”:26},{“caption”:”7: \u0022Battle of the Bastards\u0022 (Season 6) – Containing the most sweeping, expansive and impressive battles sequences the series has ever pulled off — AND some of the best CGI work involving dragons mercilessly setting enemy ships ablaze — \u0022Battle of the Bastards\u0022 saw Jon Snow and his undersized army of loyalists scrape and claw to retake Winterfell. It was a massive, emotional fight to the finish as Sansa saved the day, with Littlefinger\u0027s smarmy aid, and then fed Ramsay to his own starving mutts. And with both Dany and Jon overcoming their foul enemies (one more easily than the other, of course), this chapter gave us perhaps the most decisive win for GoT\u0027s heroes to date.”,”height”:720,”width”:1280,”url”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2018\/09\/11\/7-1536685649072.jpg”,”styleUrl”:”https:\/\/assets1.ignimgs.com\/2018\/09\/11\/7-1536685649072_{size}.jpg”,”credit”:””,”objectRelationName”:””,”objectRelationUrl”:””,”albumName”:”The 25 Best Game of Thrones Episodes”,”relativePosition”:20,”albumTotalCount”:26}]’
data-ads-disabled=’false’
data-ad-frequency=’3′
data-image-size=’1280w’>

David Griffin still watches DuckTales in his pajamas with a cereal bowl in hand. He’s also the TV Editor for IGN. Say hi on Twitter.