Kit Harington Is Done Playing Heroes Like Jon Snow: ‘It’s Not a Masculine Role the World Needs’
Kit Harington is no longer interested in playing characters that resemble Jon Snow, the “Game of Thrones” hero he portrayed for eight years on HBO’s blockbuster fantasy series. During an interview with The Telegraph (via Insider), Harington said roles like heroic Jon Snow and the masculinity the character represents no longer need to be put out into the world.
“I feel that emotionally men have a problem, a blockage, and that blockage has come from the Second World War, passed down from grandfather to father to son,” Harington said. “We do not speak about how we feel because it shows weakness, because it is not masculine. Having portrayed a man who was silent, who was heroic, I feel going forward that is a role I don’t want to play any more. It is not a masculine role that the world needs to see much more of.”
Harington had already ruled out reprising Jon Snow in a “Game of Thrones” spinoff or follow-up series. While promoting his London play “True West” in December 2018, the actor rejected the idea of returning to his world famous role.
“Would I want to go back and do more? Not on your life,” Harington told the BBC at the time. “If, like me, you go all the way back to the pilot of ‘Game of Thrones,’ that’s almost 10 years of your life. That’s really unusual in an actor’s career. It was a huge, emotional upheaval leaving that family.”
Since “Game of Thrones” signed off HBO in May 2019, Harington’s career has kept a somewhat low profile. The actor recently popped up in a supporting role in an episode of the Netflix anthology series “Criminal: UK,” and he’ll return to the movies next year by joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe in “Eternals.” Harington is starring opposite his “Game of Thrones” co-star Richard Madden in the Chloé Zhao-directed epic, currently on Disney’s release calendar for February 12, 2021. While Harington was wary about keeping his acting career going after “Thrones,” the lockdown has reinvigorated his commitment to the profession.
“It has been interesting,” Harington told The Telegraph. “Going through lockdown, getting over this TV show, where by the end of it I didn’t know if I wanted to be an actor any more, coming out the other side, living with another actor. I realized that I actually miss my craft, I miss what I do. It’s a nice revelation.”
Head over to The Telegraph’s website to read Harington’s latest interview in its entirety.
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