Representation and diversity are big talking points right now, but Hollywood has yet to turn those ideas into the norm. That’s what Kit Harington has noticed. The Game of Thrones star, who’s not entirely bummed out about saying bye to Jon Snow, is at the Toronto International Film Festival, and, as per Variety, he wound up talking about queer representation in the movies — or the general lack thereof.
“There’s a big problem with masculinity and homosexuality that they can’t somehow go hand in hand,” Harington said. “That 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 is at the festival for his next film, The Death and Life of John F. Donovan, from Canadian auteur Xavier Dolan (Mommy). He made the comments during a discussion with Dolan and his castmates Emily Hampshire and Thandie Newton. The latter picked up where Harington left off, stating that the sports world has been perhaps unexpectedly progressive on this front, with more and more athletes coming out publicly.
“It is changing, but we have to get behind those changes and keep pushing it,” Newton stated.
Dolan stated that the current wave of actors being open about their sexuality was not in vogue when he began writing his film, in which Harington plays a TV star whose life is destroyed by a scandal involving an 11-year-old boy. Dolan also stated that, while social media has helped actors come out of the closet, he worries they won’t be offered the same opportunities once they’re no longer in.
(Via Variety)
