The ‘Game of Thrones’ actor takes an unheroic turn in the modern western, ‘Blood for Dust’.
The Big Picture
- Kit Harington embraces a new ‘dastardly’ role in
Blood for Dust
, shedding Jon Snow’s moral compass. - Harington enjoys playing an antagonistic character opposite Scoot McNairy in a neo-Western setting.
- The actor seeks out complex, anti-hero roles like Ricky, exploring a darker side post-
Game of Thrones.
It may be a long time until Kit Harington sheds his Jon Snow reputation, but he is more than happy to try. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the Game of Thrones actor expressed excitement at taking on a more dastardly character in the neo-Western, Blood for Dust. Harington stars opposite Scoot McNairy as Ricky, a drugs and arms dealer, who works for a cartel. His criminal role is a far cry from the moral compass of Jon Snow, something that Harington was eager to explore.
“I rarely get the opportunity to play the Rickys of this world, the antagonistic dirtbag types, and I was excited to be presented with that opposite an actor like Scoot,” Harington said. It is also the rare role where viewers see Harington sporting such a ridiculous mustache and American accent. These elements were all part of the package after winning the role.
He intimated that perhaps part of the reason fans haven’t seen him in too many roles since Game of Thrones ended was because he was looking to branch out. While the actor won the role of Black Knight in Eternals, it wasn’t exactly a slam dunk. After the Eternals’ backlash from movie fans and the constant delays of the Blade film, it seems more unlikely that he will reprise the character in future projects. Instead, he has found what he is looking for in a less heroic role.
Kit Harington Found Purpose In ‘Blood For Dust’
If Harington has been looking to break the mold, he has found the right project. Modern Westerns have taken over pop culture as of late. They can be a vehicle for stories about how the American dream has failed and what people must do to get ahead. These complexities appealed to Harington, who was looking for something different after hanging up Longclaw.
“That is seemingly what I’ve been hunting a bit,” Harington continued. “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.”
Ricky is certainly that. After struggling in his job as a salesman, Cliff (McNairy) has to take his old friend Ricky up on his offer to enter a life of crime. Cliff becomes a criminal of opportunity, only because he has no other option. Ricky, on the other hand, is a more morally ambiguous character that Harington felt gratifying to play. But that doesn’t mean he regrets playing Game of Thrones’ best character or wants to dissuade anyone from playing heroic parts. He admitted that playing a straight hero is a difficult task. Even if viewers did not need that canceled spin-off, Jon Snow is the moral center of Game of Thrones. And while he is always morally right, it is perhaps not as much of a meaty role as opposed to Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) or Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon).
“[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—ed-up people.”
Viewers can watch Harington’s change of pace in Blood for Dust when it opens in theaters on April 19.
Blood for Dust
Cliff, a traveling salesman drowning under the weight of providing for his family and the myth of the American dream, finds himself on a dangerous path after a chance encounter with Ricky, a colleague from a dark past.
- Release Date
- April 19, 2024
- Director
- Rod Blackhurst
- Cast
- Scoot McNairy , Kit Harington , Josh Lucas , Nora Zehetner , Ethan Suplee , Stephen Dorff , Amber Rose Mason
- Runtime
- 98 Minutes
- Main Genre
- Action
This article was originally published on collider.com