John Bradley (Sam) discusses life at the Citadel and reveals contents of those chamber pots

Season 7’s premiere episode, “Dragonstone,” debuted to record ratings, giving us a look at what all our favorite characters had been doing in the months since the end of season 6. One of those characters, Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) has settled in at the Citadel, despite some less-than-ideal working conditions. Bradley recently spoke to Entertainment Weekly, and explained that there was more than meets the eye to that stomach-turning montage. (Scroll down to see other cast members give their thoughts in video interviews at the San Diego Comic-Con.)

"It’s so tough for Sam because he’s been such an outsider all his life, and he thought that when he got to the Citadel, he’d be in a place where he was accepted for the first time, where people take his passions and interests on board and do believe in the importance of applied knowledge and academia and the fact that it can be a very useful tool in somebody’s arsenal. And he gets there and he finds that people aren’t necessarily of the same mindset, and maybe he feels just as much of an outsider there as he does anywhere else."

As we saw, even though Archmaester Ebrose (Jim Broadbent) believed Sam about the White Walkers, he still wasn’t granted access to the restricted section of the Citadel library. Sam was undeterred however, and snuck in anyway. That could mean expulsion from the Citadel, but according to Bradley, it’s more than worth it:

"[Sam] knows what a race against time it is. So you see in that montage, you see him wasting time, being forced to waste time, and existing in a world where he feels like such an outsider all over again, and he feels like he’s letting Jon down every single second that he’s not doing what he promised."

Bradley also revealed what the prop human was made from, if you wanted to know.

"The turds were wet fruit cake squashed into turd shapes. You go on the set at 6:30 in the morning with wet fruit cake, it’s fine. If you’re still there at 5 o’clock with the same cake turds…"

So not quite as revolting as actual human waste, but not exactly appetizing either. We salute your dedication to your craft, Mr. Bradley.

Next: Valar Morghulis: Who’s most likely to die in “Stormborn”?

Bradley and many other actors also talked to Access Hollywood while at the San Diego Comic-Con. See the videos below. Bradley teased a developing relationship between Sam and Jorah.

Liam Cunningham touched on a scene that Davos will have with Sansa in tonight’s episode, “Stormborn.”

Sophie Turner touched on the Sansa-Davos scene, too, and discussed Sansa’s ongoing exploration of her own power.

Gwendoline Christie, who plays Sansa’s bodyguard Brienne, talked about the possibility of a Brienne-Lyanna Mormont team-up.

At the moment, Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) is on his way to Winterfell and will likely interact with some of the characters above. Wright discussed Bran’s greater purpose, although he was expectedly vague about the details.

Moving on to members of Team Targaryen, Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy) talked about the transition from playing Reek to playing the reasserted Theon.

Conleth Hill (Varys) hinted that Varys — horror or horrors — may not be as proactive this year now that he’s gathered several factions together under the Targaryen banner.

Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei) took us behind the scenes of Daenerys’ arrival on Dragonstone. Love the cape. She also discusses what Melisandre could add to Dany’s group dynamic.

Finally, Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm) talked about the excitement in the air at Comic-Con.

“Stormborn” airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. CST.

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