Game of Thrones star Kit Harington shifts into producing with Gunpowder, a miniseries in which he plays his real-life ancestor on his mother’s side, Catholic rebel Robert Catesby. Catesby was part of Britain’s 1605 Gunpowder Plot to blow up Parliament. Gunpowder airs on HBO nightly from Dec. 18 to Dec. 20. TIME spoke to Harington—currently at work on the final season of Thrones—about coming into his own as a producer and what he learned from his bosses on the Game of Thrones set.

When did you first learn you were related to Robert Catesby?

I don’t actually know—it was one of those first things you learn, one of those family stories, one of those pieces of family curiosity. I can’t pinpoint when I knew or found out about it. What went into the inception of this piece is the drama around that piece of history. That’s how I started approaching it, from the family connection to him, but it’s just one of those family things you grow up with.

Did you find Catesby to be a relatable figure?

As I went along trying to depict Catesby and get into his head, the less I sympathized with him. He’s persecuted—I see why he does what he does. But the more I looked, the more I realized he’s an incredibly selfish person. He takes a whole lot of people along with him who wouldn’t have ended up becoming attempted murderers. Reading up on him and looking at the real historical person, he thought quite a lot of himself. He really felt he was on the way to change history. He basically after a while couldn’t see what he was attempting which was to kill innocent people and become as bad as those people who were persecuting him.

It must be a complicated thing that you’ve now made this project bringing a family name further into the light—and yet you’ve depicted him as an impetuous, zealous, person. How did your parents feel about this project?

They were over the moon about it! It must have been 2005, my mum had written a very good piece for the radio—she’s a playwright, and she wrote a really good piece about the women of the Gunpowder Plot, and she wrote about Catesby’s mother. She looked into the complexity of it as well. Because of that, she was very pleased I had the same thought to do something around it. Continue reading  »

In a savvy awards show move, Gold Derby has learned exclusively that HBO will submit “Game of Thrones” scene-stealers Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington in the lead categories at the 2018 Golden Globes. This summer’s seventh season focused more prominently on their characters — queen of dragons Daenerys Targaryen and no-longer-bastard Jon Snow — which in turn gave the actors more screen time than ever before. Now that Clarke and Harington have jumped up to the lead races, it’s time to go in and update your Golden Globes predictions for Best TV Drama Actress and Best TV Drama Actor.

If this new strategy works out, both stars will be earning their first career Golden Globe nominations. Clarke scored a trio of Emmy noms (2013, 2015, 2016) while Harington earned a single Emmy bid in 2016. “Game of Thrones” has romped through the Emmys in recent years, winning Best Drama Series twice (2015-2016) and claiming a record of 38 awards over the course of its run. However, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has only given the show six nominations, with a single win for Peter Dinklage as Best TV Supporting Actor in 2012.

After six years apart, Season 7 of HBO’s fantasy epic finally allowed Clarke and Harington to share scenes — and bed sheets — together in their quest to rule the iron throne. What the characters don’t realize quite yet is that Daenerys is actually Jon’s aunt, which makes their love scene in the season finale all the more awkward. Continue reading  »