Kit Harington: internet abuse of George RR Martin is 'vicious, ugly and manipulative' 

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Game of Thrones\' Kit Harington: internet abuse of George RR Martin is \'vicious, ugly and manipulative\'

The Game of Thrones actor has spoken out against the fan pressure directed towards the author

Game of Thrones actor Kit Harington, who stars as Night\'s Watchman Jon Snow on the popular HBO show, has spoken out against the internet abuse of author George RR Martin. Martin\'s A Song of Ice and Fire book series is the inspiration behind the fantasy TV programme.

When asked about whether or not he feels "under pressure" from the avid (and occasionally slightly obsessive) Game of Thrones fanbase, Harington said: "The only thing I get p--sed off about is that, as far as George RR Martin goes, there\'s a lot of fan pressure on him – a lot of nasty, manipulative, quite vicious fan pressure that\'s aimed towards him, about his health, and about when he is producing the next book. I get quite angry about that."

Martin\'s readers are currently waiting for the author to complete the sixth book in the series, The Winds of Winter. The previous title, A Dance With Dragons, was published in 2011, and many fans are now growing impatient with the delay, especially after recent rumours (later refuted by Martin) suggested that the book would definitely not be published in 2015.

While some readers have simply admitted to feeling a little frustrated by the delay, others have cruelly speculated that Martin "might die" before finishing his work, and directed online attacks towards the author.

Harington, who was speaking at a press event to promote the DVD release of the fourth season of Game of Thrones, described Martin as a "genius", and stated that he would definitely consider the author "a professional friend", if not a "friend friend".

Kit Harington: I didn\'t go to drama school to be in Game of Thrones all my life

Speaking about the internet abuse, he added: "It\'s unhealthy, and symptomatic of many problems we have at the moment, in terms of people sitting behind a screen and firing arrows, which I think is an ugly side of our society."

Harington has previously revealed that he does not use the social media site Twitter, telling the Telegraph: “You come across enough abuse anyway if you even look on the internet.”

The actor also revealed that he is irritated by fans who complain about the difference between the book and the TV show. "Stuff about the show, about how it varies from the book – I get angry about that, because it [the show] is an adaptation," he said. "It\'s a version of the book, and people shouldn\'t take it literally."

Interestingly, the character storylines within the HBO show have now reached a point where they are "overtaking" Martin\'s books.

"I\'ve read the books, but now we\'re getting to a point where we\'re wondering how much we\'re overtaking the books, and how much we\'re sticking to," Harington said. In reference to both season four, which aired last year, and season five, which premieres in April, he stated: "There are bits that are not found in the books."

But when asked if he has been given any clues about what might be happening to his character in the next book (Martin fans will be aware that A Dance with Dragons ends on something of a cliffhanger for Jon Snow), Harington revealed that, like Snow, he "knows nothing".

"As far as what the future brings for us, I believe none of us [the Game of Thrones cast] know anything at all," he said. "The three people who know what is coming – and I believe it really is only three – are George RR Martin, David Benioff and Dan Weiss".

Benioff and Weiss, showrunners for HBO\'s Game of Thrones, have been entrusted with Martin\'s overall plans for the series.

Game of Thrones: the Complete Fourth Season will be released on DVD and Blu-ray February 16. Season five of the show premieres on April 12.

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