The Game of Thrones star talks life after the show’s final season and opens up about his Dolce & Gabbana campaign.
Kit Harington needs to charge his Juul. “I used to be a huge smoker, so this now is my lifeline,” he explains, holding the e-cigarette as we get situated before our interview. I can’t help but laugh at the image of Jon Snow puffing clouds of mango vapor in full armor and fur, but Harington clarifies that he was mostly smoking cigarettes during his time on Game of Thrones. Thanks to #VapeLife, he “weaned off.”
Unlike his smoking habit, saying goodbye to Thrones, in which Harington has starred since 2011, felt less like weaning and more like, as he’s said, peeling off his skin. “It’s a brutal experience, especially after nine years,” the 32-year-old actor says, leaning over the edge of a lounge chair in a white tee, blue slacks, and sneakers. Occasionally, he removes his wedding band from his finger and plays with it.
After nearly a decade in the role of brooding war hero Jon Snow, Harington is eager to take lighter parts in the future. He’s already shown he’s ready for a change when he hosted Saturday Night Live beardless (the photos sent fans into an uproar) and took on wild characters like a burlesque dancer and an undercover boss getting a rectal exam.
Though Harington didn’t take anything from the Game of Thrones set except a pair of Jon Snow’s gloves (he argues he isn’t cool enough to get a commemorative tattoo), he has much more to show from the experience than props. He met his wife, Rose Leslie, when they co-starred in earlier seasons, and he’s forged lasting friendships with cast mates like Emilia Clarke, who portrays his onscreen lover/aunt/possible competitor, Daenerys Targaryen. “I just got an incredible amount of admiration for her,” he says.
When we meet at the end of March, it’s still weeks before GoT fans would see Jon ride a dragon, discover his true parents, and watch Daenerys burn King’s Landing to the ground. He’s wary of sharing potential plot points—he won’t even comment on scenes in the trailer, even though they’re eventually confirmed in the first few episodes of Season 8. Harington doesn’t, however, shy away from promoting his gig as the face of Dolce & Gabbana’s men’s fragrance, The One. Like Clarke, he’s been an ambassador for the Italian brand since 2017. The actor is a strong believer in wearing a scent—when he’s not on set. “I think you should carry it around with you all the time,” he says.
Ahead, the actor talks to BAZAAR.com about representing Dolce & Gabbana, the epic battle sequences in Season 8, and what’s next for him. Continue reading »
