Game of Thrones star Kit Harington has criticised the government’s suggestion for people in the arts to retrain towards other jobs.
Addressing comments made by Rishi Sunak earlier this month, in which the chancellor spoke of the need to “adapt” across all sectors, Harington told Robert Peston the suggestion was “offensive”.
“I don’t know what the Chancellor said or didn’t say, but I think the suggestion that people should just retrain is quite offensive,” Harington said on Peston.
“It suggests that our jobs in the arts are just sort of hobbies that we can let go of on a whim,” the actor continued.
“I think that what we do, and this country has a rich history of theatre and the arts, and I think it’s one of our greatest exports, and I think it needs to be valued as such.”
He added: “It brings a lot of money into this country, just on a purely economic basis, so the idea of retraining is a silly one, I think.”
Last month, Kit Harington discussed his upbringing which he described as “gender fluid” alongside his brother and their mother, former playwright Deborah Jane Catesby.
“I asked for a Mighty Max and she bought me a Polly Pocket,” Harington said. “I asked for an Action Man and I got a doll – it was very gender fluid from the word go. And I went with it.”
Harington’s most recent role is in currently the second season of Netflix anthology series Criminal, in which the actor stars as an estate agent accused of rape now undergoing police questioning.
