The Rebirth Of Kit Harington

At the end of the final season of Game of Thrones (set to air in 2019), Kit Harington will return to real life. After spending ten years living on the edge of The Wall, dying, and coming back to life again, he’s ready to lay down his sword. We find out what he’s doing after winter is over

- Luke Leitch

Instead of battling the White Walkers, he’s fending off the pangs of nicotine withdrawal: ‘I’ve just given up,’ he growls: ‘and you’ve just had a smoke, haven’t you!’ And instead of rallying the Night’s Watch, he’s preparing to attend his first ever fashion show at Dolce & Gabbana tomorrow: ‘I don’t know what to expect really – it will be my first proper show.’

Despite his jetlag and his desire for a smoke, Harington, 31, is an unusually generous and thoughtful celebrity conversationalist. We discover we have both lived on the same street in London (he as a drama student, me now) and both spent significant time contemplating the meaning of life in a great pub called The Washington. ‘It was drama school!’ he laughs: ‘Booze and pretending!’

It was almost immediately after drama school that Harington was approached for the role that would make him globally famous – and ultimately bring him to Milan today. He was not aware of George RR Martin’s books and was only drawn to participate in the pilot of a show called Game of Thrones because of the company producing it. ‘It was HBO, and that’s all that really mattered to me. It was, and is, a staple of quality. But the script? I didn’t really understand it. I read it twice and thought “this is the most bizarre thing ever. I don’t quite get why they’re doing it, but I’m in.”’

He adds: ‘I do remember reading my role and thinking “this is in my locker - I can do this. Grumpy. Quiet. Solid. That’s fine. I can do that.”’