Actor Kit Harrington says he finds popularity boring after the sudden attention he got with the third season of Game of Thrones
How are you handling fame as an actorIJ
It’s very odd. I genuinely didn’t get into this for fame. I love acting and I know that’s a cliché, but I was very naïve when it came to the whole ‘being recognised’ thing. It was just something that I knew might happen. No one realised how big Game of Thrones was going to get. But it’s become this weird phenomenon. It’s huge. However, I was absolutely fine with it until this season. This season, it got really big. Now the fame started to get boring. Having your privacy intruded upon all the time is not nice. But as an actor, that’s what you get paid for! You get money for losing your anonymity. So I’ve put up with it, because that’s my job. But it’s weird when someone comes up to you and they’re like, ‘Jon Snow!’ And you’re like, ‘Yeah, thanks, I’m Kit. But yeah, thanks.’
You’re a part of period drama film Pompeii. How demanding was the role of MiloIJ
It’s the first time I’ve really experienced something like this. Game of Thrones was sporadic filming. It was on and off, a week here, two weeks off because the cast is so huge and there are so many storylines. Also, this is the first time I’m playing a lead role in a movie. It is demanding and tiring. There’s a lot of fighting in this and a lot of stunts, too. I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been, but I’m exhausted. I thought I’d get ill this if I didn’t relax. But it was great, I love being busy.
We hear you had to beef up for your role in the movie. Do you do that oftenIJ
I just do it on and off. I put on a bit of weight leading up to this film because I wanted to be bulky and big. But I think the makers saw my face after I’d got a bit chubby and they were like, ‘Okay, actually, no… We don’t want you big, we want you very lean and muscley.’ So I then dropped loads. I’m on this special diet and have been pumping up right before scenes. You feel like a bit of a douche, because they’ve got like 100 extras, and I’m there going at it… But it’s an action film where I’ve got my arms out the whole time, so I have to try and look tough.
What was interesting about this scriptIJ
I love action. I love doing fight scenes, I always have. I love it. I’ve sort of found myself in a kind of period niche. I’ve done lots of period movies and sword fighting movies. What grabbed me about this one was that I just wanted to throw a sword about. And I thought it was quite an exciting script.
Were there any things that really surprised you when you were researchingIJ
It was really annoying actually, because there was a brilliant exhibition at the British Museum which was about Pompeii. There seems to be some sort of resurgence of interest in Pompeii. But there’s a lot out there. I’ve read the Robert Harris book, Pompeii, and that’s enough research for anybody. If you’ve read that book, it’s a great story, but it’s like a big book of research. So that was very useful. I don’t know if anything surprised me, I just liked learning about it. I’ve always known about Pompeii, but I didn’t know the ins and outs of it. I’m thinking of going on a trip there after this. What amazes me is how it was the Romans and how advanced they were with what they invented. You wouldn’t believe how many things they came up with first and it was two thousand years ago or something. That was what surprised me.
Since you were working with senior actors, did they share any adviceIJ
It’s great that I’ve gotten to work around a lot of older actors. You know, I try not to ask them too much stuff, but you can bend their ear about it, because they’ve been in the industry for a lot longer. I think the advice I was given on this one was simple, it was, you’re gonna be exhausted, then you’ve got to rest up. For your body, for your mind, for everything. And it has been a tough shoot for me. Because I haven’t done something on this scale, so it’s a stamina test and I think, the advice I was given was just ‘rest and make sure you’re prepped for each day’, and I have been.
What’s more fun to do — the gladiator or the disaster scenesIJ
I think the gladiator stuff. I’m really enjoying all this amphitheater stuff. The disaster movie bit is kind of uncomfortable, because when that’s happening, you’ve got this ash that falls down. It’s really horrible, it gets in your eyes, and it’s disgusting. So I think that puts a damper on it. But there’s the cool bit where I’m running through a street and there’s shit blowing up left, right and center. So there have been pretty cool bits in that, but I like this. I mean, I get to be in an amphitheater, with sand, and with a sword, and with a crowd. I mean, that’s a dream.
What have been some of the challenges with the CGI since you’ve never done something on this scale beforeIJ
You know whatIJ I thought there’d be a lot more CGI than there is. There’s actually quite a lot built out here, I thought it was going to be a lot more green screen. I generally find green screen stuff quite difficult. I like being surrounded by all this, I think it’s part of the pleasure of acting. Paul’s brilliant at CGI though, and he’s very good at directing you with it, but generally he’s been throwing stones and things at me and I’ve been sword fighting in front of a crowd that’s not really that huge.
What’s the maximum fun you’ve had while shootingIJ
There’s a guy in this movie, the stunt guy’s called Max, and he plays a character called The Big Grecian, and he hates my character. And I seem to beat him up about six times in the movie, and it’s quite nice that they’ve got this kind of hatred thing going on. But the first fight we did, it was so bizarre. In real life, Max would absolutely take me to town. He’d destroy me in a fight. But I was absolutely pummeling him. I found that fun. That was the funniest day. I actually punched him in the face. I missed, and I fully clocked him in the face and he didn’t even flinch. (laughs) They’re just crazy, those stunt guys.