Kit Harington on why he said yes to Harry Potter role

Kit Harington reveals the reason behind giving nod to 'Harry Potter' role

Los Angeles, Sep 22

The 39-year-old actor has revealed that the 'Harry Potter' audiobooks helped with his sobriety. The actor was recently confirmed to be playing Gilderoy Lockhart in the upcoming reboot of the franchise. He shared that Sir Stephen Fries' narration of JK Rowling's novels comforted him once he quit drinking.

He said on the 'Happy Sad Confused' podcast, "I listen to the Stephen Fry audiobooks. And I do that because my brain is incredibly busy, especially at night, and I've always found going to bed very difficult. My brain doesn't turn off. When I got sober, that got especially bad. And so I started listening to Harry Potter audiobooks, and now they're the thing I listen to every night. So they have a very special place in my heart".

The actor recently lent his voice to the arrogant celebrity wizard Lockhart in Audible's recent audiobooks, but he was already on board with the idea of the upcoming TV series.

He further mentioned, "When I knew they were doing this show, I was like, 'I think that's a brilliant idea, I think they can really delve into it further than the films did'. I'm fully supportive of it. And then I got called to be in it, and that was just a very simple, 'Yes, please".

"I'm going to say highly little about anything because it's very secretive. But yes, I'm engaging with that as we speak. (Harry Potter) films down the road from me. So I get to be a dad; I get to go play in a world I love. Genuinely, right now I'm very content". He added.

His Potter role was confirmed last month, after he took the reins from Nicholas Hoult was originally cast as Lockhart, who was originally played by Sir Kenneth Branagh.

— IANS