Game of Thrones' Kit Harington Shares Candid View of Hero Roles; 'They're F*cking Hard to Play'

Kit Harington seemed to be heading down a route of heroic roles thanks to the reported Jon Snow spin-off continuing his Game of Thrones journey, and his potential appearance as Black Knight in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now neither of those roles is certain, and for Harington, that is good because he finds playing heroes with morals “f*cking hard.”

Harington’s new role in the movie, Blood for Dust, sees him playing the villainous character of Ricky, which is a world away from his most iconic roles. While speaking to Entertainment Weekly about the movie, he explained how playing Ricky, a ruthless arms dealer entangled in illegal activities across the tri-state area, is exactly the kind of role he has been looking for.

“That is seemingly what I’ve been hunting a bit. If I look at the roles I’ve taken since playing an out-and-out hero in Game of Thrones, I have to admit there seems to be some sort of pushback about playing a hero. I’m not so interested in heroic roles, and if I am, they have to be pretty anti-hero-ish.”

Blood for Dust

4/5

Blood for Dust is an action-crime thriller from director Rod Blackhurst, and follows a traveling salesman named Cliff. Cliff is given the chance to escape his unfortunate circumstances through a job offer by his old friend. Though hesitant, Cliff accepts, only to discover he’s been thrust into a dangerous gun and drug-running ring by a ruthless cartel leader.

Release Date: April 19, 2024
Director: Rod Blackhurst
Runtime: 1h 38m
Writers: David Ebeltoft
Studio(s): Highland Film Group

The actor then continued to explain how he believes it is much harder to play characters who are “classically heroic” and lauded any actor who can constantly play that kind of role.

“My heart goes out to people playing heroes. They’re f*cking hard to play and to make interesting. It is more fascinating as an actor, I think, to empathize with someone deeply faulted and wrong, to try and find your way into why they are doing these things. [Playing] a guy who is doing all the right things and is driven by being good, it’s harder to do that. And I think people who do it successfully, who play classically heroic roles, are very talented actors. But at the moment, I just find it more interesting looking for the f*cked-up people.”

Will Kit Harington Return to Game of Thrones or the MCU?

While there are plenty of fans that are happy to see Harington take on any role, there are obviously a lot of people that want to know about his potential return to his two big franchise roles. When it comes to playing Jon Snow again in a Game of Thrones spin-off, it appears that nailing down a story has proven problematic enough to see the project abandoned. Speaking to Screen Rant recently, Harington explained:

“Currently, it’s off the table, because we all couldn’t find the right story to tell that we were all excited about enough. So, we decided to lay down tools with it for the time being. There may be a time in the future where we return to it, but at the moment, no. It’s firmly on the shelf.”

Game Of Thrones

Release Date: December 10, 2010
Seasons: 9
Studio: HBO
Franchise: Game of Thrones

The future of his MCU character, Dane Whitman, and his transformation into Black Knight is something that has a more positive outlook. Marvel Studios have not yet teased something that did not come to fruition – even if fans have often voiced their frustration at having to wait several years for some of these payoffs – so the post-credit scene tease of Black Knight’s connection to Blade at the end of Eternals is one that will be revisited at some point. For Harington, it is a character he is very much hoping does return. In the same interview he said:

“I hope that they do something with that character. I think that character is fascinating and brilliant. And I love his trajectory in the comics. I love the idea of a good guy being turned bad by his superpower. I think that’s brilliant. I’m not sure whether we’ve had a protagonist that’s like that, so I think it’s a really strong idea. I’d love them to [revisit him].”

Eternals
is available to stream on Disney+, while
Game of Thrones
can be found on Max. Kit Harington can also be seen in his newest movie,
Blood for Dust
, which is out now in theaters and on digital.