When Kit Harington Got A Black Eye In A McDonald’s Fight, It Helped Him Land The Role Of Jon Snow In ‘Game of Thrones’
Kit Harington’s real-life black eye gave him an unexpected edge for his Game of Thrones audition. Discover how a fast-food fight changed TV history forever.
Kit Harington’s Black Eye From McDonald’s Fight Played A Key Role In Landing Jon Snow Part ( Photo Credit – Instagram )
Advertisement
Before Kit Harington became the brooding Lord Commander we all rooted for (and yelled at) in Game of Thrones, he was just a man with a swollen eye and a crazy McDonald’s story. Long before he guarded the Wall, he was picking fights outside a fast-food joint, and that shiner might’ve sealed his fate as Jon Snow.
In an interview with W Magazine, the British actor casually dropped the backstory behind his audition look. “I had a black eye. I’d been in a fight the night before,” he recalled. “I’d got in this fight with this guy in McDonald’s.” Sounds like Westeros was calling even back then.
Kit Harington Got a Black Eye Before Jon Snow Audition
It was a regular late-night run to McDonald’s. Kit Harington, then dating a girl who was with him that evening, asked a couple if they could share a table. It seemed harmless enough. But things got weird fast.
The guy initially said sure, but once Harington and his date sat down, he turned nasty. “He started being really rude to my girlfriend,” Harington said. And it didn’t stop there. When the man called her an “ugly pig,” that was it.
The actor couldn’t take the disrespect. “I realized that I had to at that point throw the first punch; otherwise, I looked like a complete wimp,” he admitted. “And I got battered.” Turns out, the unknown guy was way bigger than he looked. And Harigton lost the fight badly. But the next morning, he had a dramatic accessory for his Jon Snow audition: a big, fat black eye.
Most people would hide a bruise before a major audition. Not Kit Harington. He walked in like he owned it. And honestly, it might’ve worked in his favor. The black eye gave him an edge — a bit of real-world grit that probably helped casting directors see him as the sword-swinging underdog we’d all grow to love.
Though he didn’t say much about the audition itself, Harington gives partial credit to that unplanned brawl. “I think that man who punched me in the face may have helped me get the job, so, thank you,” he joked in the interview.
It’s the kind of origin story that feels too ridiculous to be real, but hey, this is the entertainment biz. Stranger things have happened. Sometimes, all it takes is a fast-food feud and a bruised face to kickstart a fantasy epic.
Kit Harington’s fight night may have left him sore, but it landed him smack in the middle of one of TV’s most iconic shows. Game of Thrones went on to rake in billions and run for eight seasons. And Harington became a household name.
