Kit Harington Doesn’t Want to Play ‘Heroic’ Roles Like Jon Snow Anymore
Written by SOURCE on September 23, 2020
Kit Harington, best known for playing Jon Snow in Game of Thrones, says he doesn’t want to play traditional male “hero” roles anymore.
The British actor revealed as much during an interview with the Telegraph.
“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,” he 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 anymore.”
He added, “It is not a masculine role that the world needs to see much more of.”
In lieu of those types of roles, Harington voiced a desire to play things that explore trauma and masculinity in a less traditional way. Similar to the way he considers his real-life persona, he also said he did interject into the personality of his GoT character a “certain self-reflective, introverted broodiness.”
Harington filled the role of Snow for Game of Thrones‘ eight seasons.
In the same interview (and perhaps relevant to the types of acting jobs he’ll look for from now on) he said he had a “gender fluid” childhood that he just rolled with.
“I asked for a Mighty Max, and she bought me a Polly Pocket,” he said of his mom. “I asked for an Action Man, and I got a doll — it was very gender fluid from the word go. And I went with it.”
He also added that he’s trying to get over Game of Thrones wrapping production, and that he thinks that he’s finally reached that point.
“You know that elated feeling you get when you are walking down the street and you realize that you haven’t thought about your ex-girlfriend in a while, and you go, ‘I think I am getting over them.’ I am at that place now and I am really happy,” Harington said.
“I cried a lot in the last season, just out of sheer fatigue. But I was feeling pretty emotional that day. I think it was more to do with Emilia [Clarke, Daenerys Targaryen], more about the people around me and the story coming to an end.”
Harington’s most recent comments are similar (or at least on the same subject) to ones he made about a year ago.
“One of the struggles about playing Jon … was always playing someone who was a better person than me,” Harington said during a panel at Ace Comic Con Midwest. “He’s good to his core. He’s loyal, he’s brave, he’s honest, he’s truthful to his very core, and I think that playing alongside a character like that for 10 years of your life is intimidating somewhat.”
He continued, “You’re playing alongside someone who is the very essence of good and brave, so I can only hope that some of him does live in on in me, or that I learned something from him.”
During the same panel he said he realized he “loved [Snow] dearly as a person,” and added that he “really enjoyed playing him.” So don’t mistake this for some lack of gratitude.
At the moment you can watch Harington, as a guest star, in the Netflix police drama series Criminal. And, in the near future, he’ll also be in the Marvel film The Eternals if/when it comes out in 2021.
