Kit Harington is planning to draw on his own personal struggles with masculinity and fame when playing the iconic role of Henry V.
The Game of Thrones star has been cast as the heroic king in a new Donmar Warehouse production of William Shakespeare's timeless play depicting his victory over the French at Agincourt.
Despite having wanted to play Henry as a hero since childhood, in a new interview with The Guardian, Harington insisted his version of the character won't just be giving inspiring speeches, but also drawing on modern difficulties with masculinity.
"I see confused men walking the streets. I see terrible role models," he told the newspaper. "I see a lot of anger, and I think we need to start dealing with that anger - we as men, but we as a society as well."
Speaking about his take on the medieval monarch, the 35-year-old added: "There's something very populist about Henry. He has a selfish motivation towards most things he does. I'm not sure my Henry is doing it for the good of the country.
"I think he's doing it for himself, and I think that can speak to certain leaders we have at the moment. Are they servants to the country? Or are they purely ambitious politically?"
After finding fame, the star battled alcoholism, but has now been sober for three years and has a child with his wife and Game of Thrones co-star Rose Leslie.
Speaking about how acting and fame contributed to this, he explained: "Addiction gone wrong is a very selfish trait. Even a sober addict can be a very selfish person. It's a self-centred disease.
"This is a very addictive job. In a week's time, I'm going to go out, stand on stage and get applause and it's going to be a huge rush and a high. The trouble is, I never really wanted to come down from that high. Now, I've learned how I do that and I'm much happier for it. So I'm well on my path to recovery, and all I can say to anyone thinking about it is it's a wonderful way of living your life. It saved me, for sure. I'm so grateful that I got sober before having a child."
Henry V runs from 15 February to 9 April.
