Aidan Gillen excited about 'jam-packed' final seasons of 'Game of Thrones'

May 29 (UPI) -- Irish actor Aidan Gillen says he expects the end of Game of Thrones in two more seasons will be a "bittersweet" experience for him.

"It's been such a long run that it will be bittersweet when it happens, for sure, I would say," Gillen told UPI in a recent phone interview.

"But, at the same time, it's not good to over-reach and it's not good to milk something. You can't flog a dead horse. Well, you can flog a dead horse, but you shouldn't," he added. "It's not a dead horse. It's a very lively, cult [series...] There's still so much story, so much that has to happen in this story of Game of Thrones. This season and next season are going to be jam-packed, so I am quite excited about that. It's been a big part of my life for the last seven years and will be for the next couple of years, so, yeah, I'm sure I will have some kind of a strong feeling about it [ending.] But I've also been doing so much other stuff in between that I don't really think about."  

Gillen, 49, plays Littlefinger on HBO's fantasy series, which is based on George R.R. Martin's books. The actor can now be seen on the big screen in King Arthur: Legend of the Sword and has joined the Season 4 cast of Peaky Blinders.

Season 7 of Game of Thrones is to begin on July 16. The network and showrunners have said its eighth season will be its last. A trailer released for the new season has gotten about 25 million views since it was posted on YouTube on May 24.