Kit Harington Refuses to Play Another Hero Role Like Jon Snow After Game of Thrones

Kit Harington shot to fame playing the lead role of Jon Snow in the phenomenally successful TV show Game of Thrones. The role of the brooding and reluctant King of the North provided Harington with the kind of stardom usually reserved for movie stars. In an interview with The Telegraph, the actor revealed why he does not wish to revisit the emotionally closed-off ‘Jon Snow’ archetype of a heroic character again in his career.

“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. 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.”

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From the start, Jon Snow was played by Kit Harington had been defined by an extraordinary amount of restraint. Following in the footsteps of his adopted father Ned Start, Jon proved to be the best leader the show had based on his great sense of empathy and willingness to put the needs of others before his own.

Unfortunately, that self-sacrificing nature also forced Jon Snow to put his own needs last, and become emotionally distant, as Harington describes him. While such an attitude is almost required in times of war, the actor makes a valid point that propping Jon Snow’s brooding nature up as something to be admired and emulated would send the wrong message to young men.

For his part, Harington has done his best to show the world there is more to him than Jon Snow. The actor hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live where he played everything from a D&D obsessed nerd to a cross-dressing stripper. He also starred in a mockumentary made by the Lonely Island where he played the role of a hilariously dim-witted tennis player.

Of course, no matter how much Harington tries to escape Jon Snow, he will continue to be known by that role for years to come. Game of Thrones ended last year, and Harington revealed the toll taken on his mind and body after eight seasons of the show had almost led him to quit acting.

“It has been interesting. Going through lockdown, getting over [Game of Thrones], 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.”

Harington will next be seen playing the role of the Marvel superhero Black Knight in the upcoming MCU movie Eternals, where hopefully the actor will be able to showcase a new sort of heroic character without the emotional hangups of Jon Snow. This news was first reported in Telegraph.co.UK.

Topics: Game of Thrones

Neeraj Chand

Writer with a keen interest in technology and pop culture.