Portraying Jon Snow in the iconic TV series Game of Thrones brought Kit Harington immense fame and success on a global scale. His portrayal of the character not only played a crucial role in the series but also elevated his career, earning him two Emmy nominations and opening doors in the film industry.
However, despite his contributions to the fantasy TV series, the actor feels that his one mistake, which disrupted production, may have left the producers dissatisfied with him.
Kit Harington Off-Set Injury Caused Production Disruption
Just weeks before filming of Game of Thrones Season 3 was set to commence, Kit Harington suffered an ankle injury. Due to his injury, the makers had to make adjustments to the production schedule to accommodate his recovery.
As for how he suffered the injury, the actor explained that it was the result of him attempting to enter the house by climbing through the window after he lost his keys. However, he fell and ended up hurting his ankle. “I was an idiot,” he told Entertainment Weekly.
He also shared that everyone assumed that he got injured while “horse riding or running across glaciers or something cool.” But it was not related to his work, so he “couldn’t even blame it on a film set.” And the Pompeii star attributed the incident to the “invincibility of youth.”
Harington was particularly concerned after seeing the script which included more action sequences. His injury causing disruptions in the production made him even more anxious, as he felt that producers might perceive his setback as a source of disappointment.
Kit Harington Felt Anxious About Disappointing Game of Thrones Producers
The Emmy-nominated actor has shared that he avoided activities like skiing for a long time to prevent such injuries. And when he got injured he was concerned that the producers might feel disappointed in him. “I’m sure they were cursing my name behind my back,” he said during the interview.
However, the Gunpowder star shared that they handled the situation very well and he even “bought the line producer a nice bottle of whiskey” out of guilt. Some of Harington’s sequences were pushed back to give him enough time to recover. And for others, the makers opted for a body double.
The 37-year-old actor admitted struggling with watching someone else portray Jon Snow as he felt a sense of “ownership” towards the character. “Even if it was just somebody walking I had a problem,” he said before adding, “You don’t think you create a walk for a character, but you [do].”
By the time filming of Game of Thrones moved to Iceland, he was well enough. Although he had not done such things before, Harington constantly monitored his performance after each scene to ensure the portrayal of Jon Snow remained consistent, particularly in avoiding any signs of a limp due to his injury.
Game of Thrones is available to stream on Max.
