Game of Thrones' Kit Harington lines up Doctor Faustus West End role

Game of Thrones star Kit Harington has said his new role on the West End stage was a draw for him because it marks a departure from the type of role he is normally offered.

Kit Harington: 'Anti-hero' role. Picture: Getty Images

Harington, best known for playing Jon Snow in the hit HBO TV show, will play Doctor Faustus in a new production of the classic by Christopher Marlowe, with two new acts created by Irish playwright Colin Teevan.

The production – arriving on stage in April – will be directed by Jamie Lloyd, whose credits include the musical Passion, and Macbeth, which featured James McAvoy in the title role. Harington will portray the “anti-hero” Faustus who sells his soul to the devil. Teevan’s two new acts will see Faustus portrayed as a magician.

Harington said he did not like flippant romantic comedies or “things that have no stakes in them”.

He said: “It’s a character and a part that I’m not often offered. I think because of Game of Thrones and other things I’ve been in, I’m usually thrown a lot of classic hero roles who are essentially very good men with their heart in the right places and Doctor Faustus is not that person, he’s an anti-hero, he’s a selfish man.”

Speaking of reports he was named after Marlowe, Harington said it was perhaps partly true: “My mum was a playwright and a fan of Marlowe and liked the name so I’m going to go with it.”