Kit Harington thanks the man who gave him a black eye!

The night before auditioning for Game of Thrones, actor Kit Harington was punched in the face at McDonalds.

He and his girlfriend at the time had gone to McDonald’s late at night, but there were no seats left. After asking a nearby table if they could sit with them, Harington and his date sat down with another couple. Almost as soon as they sat down, the guy they sat beside began calling Harington’s date names.

“He called her an ugly pig or something worse, and I said, ‘No you can’t, you can’t call her that. Get up. He’d been sat down the entire time so when he got up he just kept going,” Harington continued. “I realized I had to, at that point, I had to throw the first punch or else I’d look like a complete wimp. And I got batted.”

The incident left him with a black eye, which Harington had no choice but to wear to the audition. But, surprisingly, he attributes much of his success to the injury. Harington believes that having a black eye helped him during the audition to play Game of Thrones‘ Jon Snow.

“I went to the Jon Snow audition with a black eye. I think that man who punched me in the face may have helped me get the job, so thank you!” Harington said.

Source: Just Jared