Game of Thrones Actor Kit Harington Speaks Out About Queer Representation

The representation of LGBT+ people in the film industry has been a topic of debate for some time now, as actors who identify with the community have struggled to get prominent roles in box-office hits. This week, Kit Harington, who is famous for his role as Jon Snow in the renowned series Game of Thrones, and heterosexual, spoke out as an ally in solidarity with this movement.

Harington is currently promoting his film, The Death and Life of John F. Donovan, which depicts an actor being outed as homosexual whose career then snowballs until he ultimately commits suicide. In the movie, also starring Natalie Portman, Kathy Bates and Jacob Tremblay, Harington’s character plays an actor in a TV series about a superhero, leading to questions on the possibility of this happening in the real world. “There’s a big problem with masculinity and homosexuality that they can’t somehow go hand in hand,” said Harington in an interview with Vanity Fair, “[As of right now] We can’t have someone in a Marvel movie who’s gay in real life and plays some superhero. I mean, when is that going to happen?”

Harington brings up a crude point, there is not a single character in any Marvel film that is openly a member of the LGBT+ community. There was speculation that Valkyrie from the film Thor: Ragnarok would be portrayed as bisexual in the movie, but this never came to be. Tessa Thompson, the actress who plays Valkyrie, is currently the only actor in the franchise who actually is LGBT, identifying as bisexual and speculated to be in a relationship with fellow actress and singer, Janelle Monáe. 

Social media has had mixed reactions with Harington’s comments. Actor Colton Haynes (Arrow and Teen Wolf) thanked him for using his platform has a heterosexual male to speak out on the issue. 

Others, however, have called him hypocritical for making these comments but still being a part of Game of Thrones, which noticeably lacks diverse main characters, and also for playing a closeted gay man in John F. Donovan when he himself is straight.

Regardless, the issue remains the same. Marvel is notoriously lacking in the diversity department, as up until Black Panther, no minorities held a titular role, and until Captain Marvel was announced, no woman had either. Giving the LGBT+ community a platform would be a huge step in the right direction for the massive studio. The only question is: will it ever happen?

Sources: Vanity Fair

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• lgbt
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