Yes, here I go, making another reference to Game of Thrones!

After the HBO TV series ended, I watched a YouTube video called “The Cast Remembers.” In it, various actors reflect on their favorite scene partners.

John Bradley, who played the wonderful character Samwell Tarly, was asked about his experience—and Bradley is an unusual case, because playing Sam was his very first professional acting job.

Here he is, talking about the nature of friendships, and what he says applies to Kit Harington and him as actors, and also to the characters they play, Jon Snow and Samwell Tarly, and I think to human nature in general.

“I think in terms of my favorite scene partner, it’d have to be Kit [Kit Harington, who played Jon Snow]. Kit was the first person I ever had an acting relationship with, because it was my first job. I think that the friendships that you form when you are a bit scared and a bit uncertain and treading unfamiliar ground, they’re the ones that tend to stick, because you cling on to each other for support.”

It’s a helpful thing to remember, when you’re working for a tough boss, or starting a new school, or having your first baby, or moving to a new city, or doing anything that feels unfamiliar and hard—that this is often the time when we make the closest friendships.

Hard times make strong friends.