Helen Sloan/courtesy of HBO (NEW YORK) — Don’t call Kit Harington a hunk.
“To always be put on a pedestal as a hunk is slightly demeaning,” the Game of Thrones star tells the New York Post’s Page Six of the attention he receives for his looks. “It really is and it’s in the same way as it is for women. When an actor is seen only for her physical beauty, it can be quite offensive.”
“I’m in a successful TV show in a kind of leading man way and it can sometimes feel like your art is being put to one side for your sex appeal. And I don’t like that,” he continues.
“In this position you get asked a lot, ‘Do you like being a heartthrob? Do you like being a hunk?’ Well, my answer is, ‘That’s not what I got into it for,'” Harington adds.
Still, he does like receiving one compliment — on his flowing hair. “People become fascinated by very particular things and I find that really interesting, whether it’s a catchphrase or someone’s hair…But I love that I seem to have brilliant hair. I suppose it’s a great thing in life, isn’t it?” he admits, with a laugh. “Especially that [because] I’m terrified of going bald.”
As for his personal life, Harington tells the Post, “I’m single and I have been for a while.” Still, he is looking for love, adding that he prefers to date “redheads.”
“I’m a hopeless romantic, maybe to a fault at times, because it’s gotten me into trouble. But I love romance. I think it’s one of the greatest pleasures in life,” he says. “It’s about giving each other something, it’s giving something away and it should be a most unselfish act. It’s saying, ‘I’ve hired a little cottage somewhere. We’re going away! Surprise!'”
“And when I said that I’m a hopeless romantic, I’m trying not only to search for the love of my life, but to learn to be happy with myself and who I am as a person,” he adds. “Hopefully that lovely lady will come along one day. And although I love romance, I’m trying to live without it at the moment.”
Previously, Harington has been linked to his Game of Thrones co-star, Rose Leslie, and his Pompeii co-star, Emily Browning.
Game of Thrones is set to return for season five April 12 at 9 p.m. Eastern time on HBO.
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