Kit Harington explains emotional reason behind his move into directing

Kit Harington has revealed the personal reason he decided to step into directing, saying the move came from a “growing need” to explore storytelling from behind the camera.

The Game of Thrones actor recently made his directorial debut with the short film Psychopomp, which premiered at the Raindance Film Festival in London.

He said the project emerged after he began following a strong creative instinct he could no longer ignore.

Speaking to Variety, Harington explained that his experiences on set as an actor often left him imagining how he would film scenes or guide performances himself.

“I’d be on set as an actor and thinking about how I would shoot a scene, what notes I would give to an actor,” he said.

“You can’t suggest a shot to a director or give a note to another actor on set, and that was a growing need I was feeling that told me that I had to make my own thing to see if that instinct was the right one to follow.”

The short film follows a man named Harry, played by Harry Melling, and an assassin named Liam, played by Ciaran Owens, as they embark on a road trip.

Harington said the story explores themes of male vulnerability, friendship and depression.

“There is only so much dinner table chat you can personally handle before you need to explore it in a different way as a creative,” he added.

Harington said stepping into the director’s chair changed his perspective on filmmaking, particularly when he watched actors bring his scenes to life.

“I slightly freaked out as they played the scene and they were perfect,” he said. “It was a real joy to actually just watch actors do what they do from a completely different angle and admire them.”

The actor added that seeing the process from behind the camera gave him a deeper appreciation for the craft of acting, describing it as a shift in perspective that allowed him to understand performance “from the outside in.”