Kit Harington has a nice feature in the new edition of Mr. Porter. Such a permanent sad face. Bless his heart. Some have complained about the sudden abundance of new Kit interviews, to which I can only say… he’s promoting a movie. It’s called Spooks: The Greater Good. And even though he’s promoting that movie, he ends up spending most interviews talking about Game of Thrones. Which is fine. You can read the full Mr. Porter piece here. Some highlights:
When he realized GoT changed his life: “I think the moment I realised it could be a life-changer personally was going to Comic-Con for the first time. I’d splashed out on a drop-top Mustang in LA, and I drove with my girlfriend at the time to San Diego. I got out of the car and… flashbulbs!”
Jon Snow lives in his head: “He’s incredibly introverted. It’s like if anyone in Game of Thrones didn’t want to be on the show Game of Thrones, it’d be Jon Snow. If he could see the cameras, he wouldn’t want them there. He lives in his head.”
Jon Snow is not demanding: “No. It’s very physically demanding, but I think Jon is quite straightforward. I find I get in a certain mood that maybe can be a bit dour. But I’m nowhere near being a Method actor.”
Finding success so early in his career: “There’s that saying about never find success too early. And there are moments when I think maybe I would find it easier not to take this for granted if I’d toiled a bit more first. But I’d be stupid to say that I regret it. I’d be stabbed by many unemployed actors, quite rightly. This has opened so many doors to me and it’s my job now to do as much as I can with my career.”
Fame: “It can make you feel like a nutcase some of the time. It has turned people I know mad. But you just surround yourself with people who don’t kiss your arse, who don’t put up with any kind of arrogance that might be seeping through.”
His GoT contract: “I can’t speak for how other actors’ contracts work, but I understand the show will run for somewhere between seven and eight seasons.” Meaning a further two or three years, “if I’m in it”.
What if Jon Snow died in Season 6: “I would miss it sorely. I would be very sad to leave. But it would open me up to new things. There’s lots I haven’t been able to do that I would be able to do. So I think I’d be all right with it. Look, I’ve landed a role of a lifetime and it has happened during my twenties and that’s great. Hopefully there’ll be another role of a lifetime down the line but for the moment I can use my thirties, whenever I’m free from this, to go and look for loads of different strange and incredible work.”
The girlfriend at his first Comic-Con… I wonder if it was Rose Leslie/Ygritte? Hm. As for the rest of it… Kit just seems like such a serious person. I don’t know if it’s the permanent sad-face or if he really is this guy who takes everything a little bit too seriously.
Kit also says that when he was a kid, he saw Ben Whishaw play Hamlet, and that Whishaw “literally was the reason I wanted to act.” Kit says he’s met Ben twice since then and he was “tongue-tied” both times. Which is adorable. Ben Whishaw is amazing! Kit chose a great actor to admire.
Photos courtesy of Jo Metson Scott/Mr. Porter.
Oh god, please no. We free folk actually have things we need to get done today. No more Bolt-On theories, no more (my) defending of White Walkers, no more whenissansagettingflayed pools. #stoptheinsanity
ETA: Although Abot’s Wanda Frey is still making me giggle.
Did you use a Southern accent to type that or a Dutch one? And this free folk has a trial this afternoon. No time for this. Why are you defending White Walkers? ARe they just misunderstood?
The Imf thinks the White Walkers may not necessarily be the bad guys in the situation, that their motivation just may be misunderstood.
GRRM never writes in black and white, is all I’m saying (in a Greek accent today). Minus Ramsey & Joffrey who both seemed to have zero humanity, most everyone else is fairly grey, whether they are “good” or “bad”. Christ people, I’ve been saying this all along! Who’s to say the White Walkers are menacing evil death raisers who sacrifice babies and stuff? Maybe they’re just a long forgotten race, like the Children of the Forest (who creep me the f-ck out btw), who have returned because of the equally dangerous and waste laying dragons. Catch my drift?
Imf, I deflated it, caught it, and blamed it on someone else. 😉
4 GoT post suspension for you, Abot! (Appeal to follow)
*Pulls out Valeryian tinfoil.* Dany isn’t actually a full Targ. She’s half Lannister. Tywin had an affair with her mom to get even with the mad king. Take that!
I thought it’s vice versa! Cerseis mom had an affair with a Targaryen and Cersei and Jaime are half Targaryen/Lennister! Which would legitimate their kids because the Targaryens always married their siblings.
Wait. Are you joking? Did I miss something or was this in the books I haven’t read (yet)? I can’t keep up with the Phd game of thrones on here. I’m trying but I barely have an associates degree.
Hm interesting, but I don’t think so because Twyin was very invested in Jaime & Cersei, Tyrion not so much. I think Tyrion (you’re no son of mine) is the half Targ.
Sorry Cindy, this is all just speculation, gleaned from hints in the books.
@Liv I think Size just turned all the tin-foil into a double-bladed Valyrian saber.
I only have my GoT beginner’s certificate but I think she’s suggesting that while Mrs. Lannister did have an affair (which may/may not have produced one or more of the Lannister kids), Tywin knew of this and got even by sleeping with Dany’s mom.
Don’t feel bad – there are people who have literally been studying this stuff and building their cases for decades now. At this point, it feels like the only new theories are completely crackpot ones, like mine. What kills me is, it’s all fiction and GRRM/HBO can do whatever they want (within some limits).
Howland Reed is my witness. He can shapeshift into a trout. *waves tinfoil*
Agree with mimif – Tywin was very invested in Jaimie and Cersei. He was very unhappy when Jaimie took the white. As for the rest, he’s have had to be really stealth or really insane to sleep with the wife of a dude that burned someone alive.
Twyin doesn’t seem the type to get even by banging some dude’s wife tho. He’s more of, I’m going to destroy your whole family’s dynasty kind of guy. (You have to pronounce that like din-asty tho.) Besides, I thought Aerys was obsessed with Joanna from the get go. And what is a Joanna doing in GoT? Is that like a Wanda slip-up that made it past the editors?
@SDM I had to look up Howland Reed again. GRRM says ‘He will appear eventually.’
Think he’ll make it to the show or just the books? He’s the only one who knows what happened the day Eddard went to get his sister.
Can trouts talk tho?
TYWIN IS AN EVIL GENIUS. Wait, was, an evil genius. He was not only the hand of the king, he was also the pillar and stones. What better way to bring down your empire than by secretly fathering your heir?
Mad King and his queen were both Targ (brother and sister I think). Tywin and his wife (Joanna) were both Lannister (cousins). It is conceivable (yes remote but still) that Dany is half Lannister/half Targ and Tywin’s revenge. Tyrion (or possibly Jaime/Cersie) also half Lannister/half Targ but through the opposite Lannister/Targ combination.
*I completely made this up for entertainment purposes but now I’m convincing myself*
@Size, no it’s a good theory, but it’s widely debunked. Not trying to pop your bubble at all, I say roll with it, but it just doesn’t keep with Twyin’s persona. Would love to be proven wrong tho!
@Abbott – I can’t remember how much Howland Reed has been mentioned in the show. Is he merely Meera and Jojen’s dad, or is it known he was with Ned during the fight with the kingsguard three and Lyanna’s death? There were hints from Stannis and Littlefinger that others suspect Jon isn’t Ned’s bastard and don’t buy the Baratheon view of the Rhaegar/Lyanna incident. So, for streamlining purposes, I think Howland Reed’s book role will probably be absorbed by different characters on the show.
@size: that would be really disappointing if they get rid of Howland. We already got stuck with his kids, I thought his reappearance was going to be the payoff for that.
Personally, I find the theory that Howland is in disguise to be very interesting. I’ve said it before: this is a guy who went with Ned to the Tower of Joy and helped him take on 3 Kingsguard. How could he have missed out on this whole fight?
I also agree that it’s not Tywin’s style to get even by sleeping with Aerys’ wife. His style is more ‘betray him with an army at the gate and let them kill his whole family’
I am gonna make and wear a tinfoil hat from now on when I watch GoT, so I can absorb more wisdom from the others simultaneously wearing theirs.
@Cindy – if you want super-delux, professional-grade tinfoil theories, go visit reddit or westeros.org, and we will see you sometime next month after you climb back out of the wormhole.
Cute thory, but by the time Dany was conceived the rebellion had already started (it was almost at end really). Tywin had not been in King’s Landing since Aerys named Jaime in the King’s Guard more than year before.
But Tyrion is actually child of Aerys and Joanna. This is known.
I refuse to believe that Joanna and Aerys EVER slept together. I just hate these “Jaime/Cersei/Tyrion are half Targaryen just because they have blond hair/because Tywin hates Tyrion” theories with a passion.
Why? Because in the books many characters stated that Tywin and Joanna had a happy marriage, a marriage of equals. And there’s zero reason to believe that Joanna would’ve ever willfully cheated on her husband. Even the official world book “The World of Ice and Fire” (written with the permission of GRRM) put an end to this theory and said that Joanna and Aerys weren’t lovers.
Yes, maybe she was raped or she was blackmailed into an affair by the king, but please, there’s no evidence of that. There was only one documented occasion when the king sexually harassed her, and it was during the bedding ceremony at her wedding. But it doesn’t mean he raped her that night and he fathered the twins. Joanna and Tywin got married in 263 AC, and the twins were born in 266 AC, three effin years after the wedding!
And while it’s a cool theory that eight years later Aerys raped Joanna who gave birth to Tyrion, so Tyrion is a Targ, yeah, the blood of the dragon and stuff, but it’s just a theory. So what if I say Cat cheated on Ned for at least four times because aside from Arya neither of their children look like a Stark? 🙂
I’m pretty sure Tywin hates Tyrion simply because he lost Joanna during childbirth. Oh, and because he’s a dwarf, and he considers him an ugly deformity in the glorious Lannister bloodline. But Tyrion is the only child of Tywin who inherited his intelligence. He’s his father’s son. Maybe in the 6th or 7th book we’ll get a plot twist that reveals that Tyrion is a Targaryen, I don’t rule that possibility out, but right now we don’t have any evidence of it. (In the meantime the R+L=J theory has dozens of evidences. Big difference.) And in my opinion from a storytelling point of view “the arrogant and prideful father loathes his son for his physical appearance, for losing his wife because of him, and he can’t accept the fact that this hated child is the best and smartest heir he could ever have” is a much better storyline than “daddy hates the bastard son of his late wife”.
Sorry, English isn’t my first language. I’ve been reading CB for years, and I love the GoT posts and comments.
Oh, and about Dany:
The night of her conception was documented in a Jaime chapter. The young Jaime was conflicted because he was supposed to protect both the king and the queen, but Aerys loved to beat Rhaella up. IIRC, fortunately towards the end they weren’t sleeping together often, because the crazier Aerys got, the more his sexual appetite decreased. However, every time he burnt a man alive, he got so horny that he spent the night with her. And there was one occasion when he burnt his penultimate Hand to death, and after that he slept with Rhaella again – while Jaime was standing outside of the bedroom, listening to the cries.
Since Aerys died only a few weeks thereafter, I suspect that was the night when Dany was concieved.
@Beregorl – is your first language High Valerian? Because, wow! You know your GoT!!! What do you make of Jaime’s conversation with his aunt (Gemma? Glenda? GENNA! The one married to the Frey who wants Riverrun.)? When Jaime goes back to the Riverlands to break the siege, she tells Jaime that Tyrion is Tywin’s son, not Jaime.
@ Size Does Matter
Thank you! 😀 Despite my lenghty essay I’m not that big of an expert of GoT, but I admit I have a soft spot for the Joanna-Tywin story, and I also love the background stories from the past (the rebellion, the tourney at Harrenhal, Dunk and Egg, the history of Starks and stuff). 🙂
I LOVED aunt Genna, she was a feisty one! I think by that sentence she meant that although (probably) both of them were Tywin’s sons, Tyrion was the one who inherited daddy’s brain and skills, not Jaime. And Tywin refused to talk to her for years afterwards. 🙂
I’m starting to think that, given all of the vague prophecies and suggestions, layers, nuances, and history, that you could make a conceivable argument for just about any crazy theory you can think of. That’s what I tried to do upthread with Tywin and Dany. And because it is fiction, you can fill in the blanks mostly how you want, provided you try and stay in the character of the character, which is made up. I wonder if GRRM anticipated this concept taking on such a life of its own? I also wonder if he ever intended half of the crazy theories people have developed?
Trying not to be too spoilery. Back to the Howland Reed discussion from above, I don’t think the description from the books (which is largely what the theory was based on, comparing the physical descriptions of Howland Reed to that other character) match up for the actor on HBO and the book character(s). Therefore I think the show character suspected to be Howland in the books will not be him in the show. Plus, I believe that character is Elia Martell’ true love, given Ser Barristan’s comments to Dany that Elia’s true love became very pious after Elia married Rhaegar (this is from book five, before Dany married Hizdahr). Either way, Cersei made a serious mistake dealing with those people and will regret it soon enough.
But, but…in the books Tywin’s sister tells him, that he’s got just one son. Tywin never knew that his wife cheated on him. So I assume that either Tyrion or Jaime have another father. Also there’s this rite that the king gets the first night with a bride…I don’t know, it’s a rumour I heard and I think it would make sense. Also Tywin always hated Tyrion and it would be pretty crazy if Tyrion was actually his only son.
@beregol: Okay, so you disagree with the theory that Tyrion is actually Aerys’ son. However, I disagree with your assertion that there’s no evidence as there is definitely subtext, and you’re putting an awful lot of weight into Genna Lannister’s words. And personally, even if Tyrion isn’t a Targaryen (though I keep going back to the fact that he had the dragon dreams) it’s implied that Aerys was fascinated with Joanna Lannister.
Dreams about them, reads about them, talks about them…thinks Grumpkins and Snarks are silly old wives’ tales but he sure loves his dragons. And @Size, totally agree with you that we could pull a bs theory out of almost any subplot (not to mention there’s about a billion red herrings to lead us on).
And Beregorl, post here more often! Your English is great as is your analysis. 🙂
Anybody else notice that a name ending in “anna” is basically a GRRM death sentence? Lyanna, Joanna, Wald-anna….
@ Size Does Matter
I agree with you about the theories, and actually, making theories is one of the best things ever in every books/series/movies/games fandom. (Those years I spent on Harry Potter and Lost message boards…) There are some crazy *ss ones like “Varys is a Blackfyre, and actually he has silver-blonde hair so that’s why he shaves his head”, which sound very far-fetched, but heck, I like it.
@Bridget
I hope I didn’t sound too arrogant about the Joanna-Aerys one. This theory is my cryptonite, and sometimes I can get carried away with this. As for aunt Genna, I don’t think I put too much weight into her words. She said “Jaime […] you smile like Gerion and fight like Tyg, and there’s some of Kevan in you, else you would not wear that cloak… but Tyrion is Tywin’s son, not you.”
Many readers say this means that Jaime isn’t a Lannister, but Tyrion is definitely Tywin’s kid. I don’t say that because Genna obviously couldn’t spend every single moment with Joanna, so she isn’t a walking and talking paternity test. In my interpretation her little speech meant that she knew the Lannister men’s personalities well, and she saw the similarities between Tyrion/Tywin, and Jaime/Tywin’s brothers. Maybe it’s about nurture, not nature, since both Jaime and Tyrion grew up watching the other Lannister guys. Who knows. And yes, Aerys was into Joanna, and he was a crazy, cruel, abusive jerk.
But based on all the things I said above I tend to believe that Cersei, Jaime and Tyrion are hundred percent Lannisters. I may be wrong, and if we ever find out that one or two of them are Targs, then naturally I’ll accept that turn of events.
@ Liv
“Also there’s this rite that the king gets the first night with a bride”
I don’t think the king of Westeros had the jus primae noctis. His only right was to undress the bride with the other male guests, and take her to the nuptial bed. And in the meantime the female guests undressed the groom. From what I got from the books, it was supposed to be a fun, lighthearted ceremony. However, Aerys took some liberties during the bedding ceremony. Fans ask what he had done. Some say he outright took her virginity in front of everyone, which I find improbable, because I can’t imagine that the proudful and strict Tywin we know would’ve been ok with that. In my opinion Aerys groped her, but nothing serious happened that night.
@ mimif
Thanks! I like your posts, too. And the ones of Bridget, as well. And Kiddo. And… Reading CB is one of my favourite activites while I’m sitting on the subway going to work. Okay, I should stop stanning, I sound way too creepy. 🙂
I thought they have the right to spend the first night with the bride if they want to. That is why Roose Bolton was upset and raped the mother of Ramsey – because the miller (?) didn’t tell him that he was going to marry.
*mimifcrack
There you are. I summoned you yesterday for your CSI skillz!
Exactly!!! I am at work and then i’ll have to go to a yoga lesson!! I hate not being able to keep up with all the nerdy posts I love so much!!!
I like Kit and I have a lot of respect for him. He’s the only one GoT actor (along with Emilia Clarke) that has read the books way before the show came up. So he knows how the real Jon Snow is.
I think he is a good Jon Snow and I like him more this season. He’s a good Lord Commander.
I wish I could see him in a naked scene instead of Ramsay…but hey that’s me.
And what I really really want ( in a Spice Girls’ voice) is for Jon to meet Arya again. That’s all I want. Everybody else can die and go awaY.
That’s what you get for being an employed healthy person. Come to the dark side; we can sit around drinking wine and working on our weirdnerd.com website!
That sounds way better than going for my run.
Paola yes to everything you wrote! Crikey~
Kit is ripped! I posted a half nekkid pic of him a while back, and dude has a full on washboard. I imagine lugging all that leather and weaponry would do that to a man.
@Bridget, I’m jealous of your runs, and paolanqardor’s yoga. I’m stuck in a traveling rut where I’m lucky if I can get the dog walked.
This is actually the first year that both kids have been in school at the same time, so I don’t have to run in the 5:00am range (really long runs would start at the unfortunate hour of 4:00am, yuck).
Thank God someone else appreciates the White Walkers. They are so underrated.
You’re my new best friend.
Rose Leslie didn’t come around until season 3, so doubt it.
It was 99% Rose because she was at both Season 2 & 3 SDCC. Kit was supposed to be there for Season 2, but he broke his ankle the month before and Rose filled his spot.
Didn’t we see pics of them out and about right before CC?
No, it wasn’t Rose Leslie. He’s talking about SDCC ’11. He was dating a girl from his drama school at the time and brought her with him.
Kit’s girlfriend the first Comic Con was not Rose Leslie – however, they were friends and knew each other before GoT, but didn’t date until she joined the show in Season 2, and they were stuck together in Iceland for so long. The girl Kit had in the Mustang was a girl with dark hair. They were holding hands and whispering to each other, and seemed very tight. He also totaled the car later that week. I was in San Diego for an unrelated reason, and, since I was already a GoT fan, I stopped by the convention. I was still in Cali when he crashed the car.
Ughhhhh, I’m already sick of this dude and I don’t even know who he is
It’s kind of complicated, but R + L = J, altho it was a massive secret and stuff. Then he left for a big icy wall to protect the north, while his uncle (who knew his true parentage) got beheaded by some very sinister folks (most likely due to Littlefinger being a traitorous a-hole who was in love with uncle’s wife), so now he’s just basically waiting for winter to actually show up, since it’s being coming FOREVER, cuz there’s big huge scary icy otherworldly dudes that ride dead horses on the other side of this big wall. And he needs to protect the realm from them and stuff.
P.S. I’m kind of sick of him too, but he ***SPOILERS*** _______ soon, so no big.
I know who he is and I’m sick of him too. He whines way too much and thinks he’s way hotter than he is.
I can not stand this guys face. It’s just so damn PUNCHABLE.
On last week’s Kristen Stewart’s post @ITO proposed that Kit Harrington and Stewart should have a blog together. I thought it was a hilarious idea…they both have so much angst.
HODOR!!!
Could HODOR! be the most important character on GoT?? News at 11…
😀
Mimif, Hodor (Walder) is the key to everything. I have no doubt about this.
PAOLANQARDOR!
He is perfect as Jon Snow. I wonder if I’d find him as attractive in another role.
I almost didn’t recognize him, but here’s another movie of his coming out…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tP7k4wqVJo
Woah, didn’t recognize him either. I guess he really IS acting when he’s John Snow. I just thought that was sh*tty acting and actually him in real life. Now I like him more. Thanks for the link!
I’m never going to turn down a Very Special Episode of Celebitchy Presents: Kit Harington Says Words.
Is it his mustache? His mustache is the physical embodiment of a Kristen Stewart poem; one big frown.
Lolz Aboteek, but you know what happens when he smiles; it’s like a sminge.
Hey, did you ever talk to the Red Witch yesterday? I was hoping you lit a match and asked her if she could see Reek redeeming himself in the fire. 😀
I followed her Q&A but she only picked the questions that were lame or were potentially flattering to her (so of course my questions never went answered). Everyone grab your smelling salts because the Red Witch brings the shockers! (Read: no she doesn’t):
– She real life friends with Davos
– Melisandre’s hair looks fresh to death bc MAGIC
– Favorite Behind the Scenes moment: she’s had lots of fun with her merkin
– Wishes Tywin was still around
– ‘You know nothing, Jon Snow’ is her favorite Melisandre line
– Kit is pleasant and professional
Excellent reporting, Agent Abot!
And yeah, boring just like her character although from now on, her handle is Merkinandre.
I too wish Tywin was still around.
He was a great character. One of the best things to happen to the show along with Tyrion.
Never saw GoT but think a marathon is in my future.
Do it, right now. If you start at 7am you should be all caught up by Monday, bathroom breaks included. I’ll be awaiting your report henceforth…
I think Ben Whishaw is amazing, too, so Precious Baby Boy gets an OK from me on this otherwise boring interview. I guess it’s not his fault that everyone wants to talk about GOT rather than his other projects.
I found Jon Snow one of the worst GOT characters first 3 seasons…..however, Kit improved last season so now he is bearable. Seems like a nice and polite guy but I have seen him on Graham Norton show…..zero charisma and boring to death.
I know! Crazy how he went from most boring to one of the best storylines. I almost feel bad for whining about him Jon Snow-styles for 3-4 years. Almost.
One of the best storylines????????
Really?!?!?!!!
I say they killed off all the best storylines/characters on that show and now we’re stuck with the most boring ones.
Apart from Arya’s.
I think compared to Dany, the Sand Snakes (yeah, I said it), and everyone else just talking in dark rooms, The Wall is where it’s at.
With due respect A.Key, Arya’s storyline this season is about washing and sweeping the floors. I’d rather watch the paint dry. Oh wait…
Poor Jon, so misunderstood. It’s like half the posters here are Catelyn.
I wonder what’s going to happen to Littlefinger. His scheming put the whole war of succession into motion, is he going to end up paying for it? Sometimes I think the person most likely to call in that account is Arya.
Oh good theory, she’ll have to add it to her nightly chant. Except I love LF, I don’t want him to die. He makes GoT so much more interesting.
He’s nearly ruined Westeros with his scheming, with absolutely no consequence as of yet. I just wonder if that will change!
I like that theory, too. What is his goal? I read someone’s analysis of Littlefinger on Reddit. Their theory is that he knows the world is about to end and everyone is going to starve in the upcoming winter, so LF wants to enjoy himself as much as possible along the way. Did you read the new Alayne Winds of Winter sample chapter?
Honestly, I can’t even muster any excitement to read the sample chapters. I feel pretty burned by the last book.
I have actually seen him where I work in Cannon Street in London. I don’t know why he was there since most celeb types don’t really hang out in the finance district. I can say that he is indeed short (about 5’6) but good looking. His hair was the first thing I noticed. It definitely makes an entrance before he does.
HODORRRR!
He’s just adorable! Please keep on covering him 🙂 honk honk, better, hodor hodor.
You know noothing, Jon Snow~