By Kyle Osborne
While trudging through icy climes as his best known character, Jon Snow, in the hit HBO series ‘Game of Thrones’, actor Kit Harington is usually clad in more fur garments than Aretha Franklin at an Igloo convention. But starring as the lead character in the big screen (and even bigger budget) film, ‘Pompeii’, Kit is wearing barely more than Tarzan would—his abs are so prominent, they have their own business manager. The genre pic about that nasty Volcano in 79 A.D., has Harington nearly dwarfed by giant sets and 3-D visual effects.
Yes, everything is bigger on the set of a film, than on that of a TV show; Even one as popular and pedigreed as Thrones, where Harrington mostly films his parts in Northern Ireland and Iceland.
When I ask Harington, “Which is a better life—the lead role in a film or being a popular character on a popular show? Do you get better snacks on a film set?” He answers instantly, “The main difference is you get a bigger trailer with, you know, a fireplace and a bed.” You also get used to star treatment, it seems. “When I came back to shoot season 4, I turned to an A.D. (assistant director) and asked, ‘Can I get a coffee?’ and she looked at me and said, ‘Get it yourself!’
The rebuff was actually a friendly reminder that, after four months of playing the muscle-bound Gladiator, the warm and humble (and short!) Englishman was back home. “Being in Thrones is like coming back to family every year. It’s a luxury to be able to live like this—I’ve signed up for all six or seven years, and it’s great. You do the work, then you get time off every six months to do other things. It’s an amazing life.
But becoming too closely identified with one particular character can also have its drawbacks. How much work has Jason Alexander gotten post-Seinfeld? Remember Norm from ‘Cheers’? But Harington is undaunted, noting that the vast majority of actors would be perfectly pleased to even be known as one character. “Actors, even your George Clooneys and Matt Damons, get maybe three defining roles their whole lives. I’m happy that after Thrones I’ll have two more roles (in upcoming films), and I’m just happy to have gotten one.” When asked if he could see himself someday as , say, a character actor in his 60’s, Harington points to a Thrones cast-mate who just turned 91 years old. “I want to be that guy,” he says, grinning.
The long awaited Season Four of ‘Game of Thrones’ is slated for an April 6th premiere on HBO, after that, Harington will spend his time and big screen paycheck traveling and “seeing the world.” And no matter where his travels take him, he’ll almost always find a fan who wants a photo or who wants to shout the following quote at him, a line known to true fans of the show: “You Know Nothing, Jon Snow.”
“I still have no idea what the f*ck that even means,” he says chuckling.
Kyle Osborne and Kit Harington