Kit Harington Once Left Rose Leslie In Tears With A Gross Prop
Anyone familiar with "Game of Thrones" knows that the show is ... pretty disgusting. For every sweeping, panoramic shot of King's Landing or Winterfell, there's a scene of someone puking, a pile of guts on the ground, or a gruesome beheading. Apparently, star Kit Harington, who played Jon Snow on the show from beginning to end, used a prop related to that last thing to freak out his wife Rose Leslie (who appeared on the show as the wildling Ygritte).
Back in 2017 — before "Game of Thrones" came to a close — Harington appeared on The Jonathan Ross Show and revealed that one year, as an April Fools' prank, he snuck a prop of his own severed head into their refrigerator and scared her with it. "After that, she was in tears, and I was there going, 'April Fools,'" Harington told a laughing Ross. "It didn't go down well. She pretty much told me if I did it ever again, that would be it. And I think that's marriage included."
Harington wasn't quite finished pranking Leslie ... though his next prank, which he pulled in 2019, ended up causing problems for him. Apparently, Leslie loves a particular brand of almond milk, and Harington convinced her it was going out of business due to Brexit. "Now this backfired, 'cause she immediately rang my PA and got her to bulk-order this almond milk with my credit card, so I ended up spending 150 quid on almond milk," Harington told late-night host Seth Meyers (via E! Online). I "It turns out the only thing more terrifying than seeing your severed head in a refrigerator is seeing cartons upon cartons of almond milk," Meyers quipped back.
Kit Harington and Rose Leslie met and fell in love on the set of Game of Thrones
Despite Kit Harington's affinity for pulling strange pranks on Rose Leslie, the two have been dating in 2011 and are, as of this writing, still happily married — and they even struck up their romance on the set of "Game of Thrones." In Season 2 of HBO's hit series, Leslie joined the cast as the wildling Ygritte, whom Jon encounters while he, a man of the Night's Watch (and enemy to the wildling clans), wanders beyond the Wall. Even though Ygritte is initially Jon's captive, there's immediately a spark between them, and the situation escalates as Jon gains the trust of Ygritte and her fellow wildlings by killing a fellow "crow" (a nickname for men of the Watch). Throughout Season 3, the two begin a relationship in earnest — in the episode "The Climb," you can clearly see the intense chemistry between Harington and Leslie as their characters share a kiss atop the massive Wall — though Jon returns to Castle Black and his fellow men of the Night's Watch, betraying Ygritte.
Season 4 marks the end of Ygritte's time on the show ... and it's particularly tragic. The former lovers find themselves on opposite sides of an all-out war between the "crows" and wildlings, and during a massive battle at Castle Black, Jon and Ygritte come face to face. Unable to kill each other after all is said and done, Jon watches in horror as a young boy whose village was raided by wildlings, Olly (Brenock O'Connor), shoots Ygritte through the heart. She dies in Jon's arms, and in one last loving act, he cremates her north of the Wall, telling others that she belongs there.
What have Kit Harington and Rose Leslie been doing since Game of Thrones?
As a couple in real life, Rose Leslie and Kit Harington have faced some hardships ... and welcomed new additions to their family. After the stress of playing Jon Snow for so many of his formative years, Harington sought mental health treatment in 2019, and has spoken quite candidly about his experience and growth in the years since. In 2021, Leslie and Harington welcomed their first child, a son, and had a daughter in 2023.
Harington has stayed booked and busy since his treatment, even joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe in "The Eternals;" more recently, he appeared in the AppleTV+ series "Extrapolations," and he's set to return to HBO in 2024 in the third season of the hit series "Industry." Leslie has also continued working on the small screen, most notably in the CBS All Access series "The Good Fight" (a spin-off of "The Good Wife" that proved to be enormously popular in its own right) and as a series lead on the short-lived HBO series "The Time Traveler's Wife." Hopefully, these days, Harington isn't messing with any fake severed heads — or almond milk — just to prank Leslie. As for their time playing opposite one another, you can watch Jon and Ygritte's epic romance on "Game of Thrones" on Max now.
If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.