Video: One on One with Marisa Abela and Kit Harington
As Industry returns for an anxiety-inducing third season, the stakes for those at Pierpoint are even higher than in its previous two outings (if you can quite believe it). A full-throttle drama such as this one, which shows the dark and often grotesque side of humanity, must be an intense shooting experience for its cast – who fortunately don't share the ruthless, competitive nature of their on-screen counterparts.
When we sat down with Industry stars Marisa Abela and Kit Harington at The Londoner hotel to shoot the latest episode in our One on One series, the genuine warmth and affection between the co-stars, who work closely together this series, was palpable.
For former Game of Thrones alumnus Harington, signing up to Industry was a no-brainer. He joins the ensemble as Sir Henry Muck, the entitled, moneyed CEO of a green tech company and Pierpoint’s buzziest new client. “I loved the show beforehand, and thought there were some very strong actors and some very strong writing,” he explains. “When they pitched the character to me, I was like, I’ve met a tonne of them. I can do that.”
Despite acquiring numerous film and theatre roles since Game of Thrones came to an end in 2019, Harington explains that he found it particularly daunting to join such an established show in a role specifically crafted for him.
“It was very nerve-wracking,” he admits. “If you’ve been offered a role and you haven’t taped for it, [the showrunners] are entrusting you with one of their babies and you could just step in and ruin it. It’s also so strange walking into a show where you’ve watched these characters and now you’re entering it... it’s a bit like stepping into a theme park.”
But Harington needn’t have worried; he works closely with Abela, who plays the similarly wealthy but increasingly troubled Yasmin Kara-Hanani. Soon, their business relationship quickly turns to one of pleasure – and power – as the series progresses.
“I remember when I read it and read Henry and then you came in and did it, I thought, this is so fun, this is so cool,” Abela recalls. “I remember you worked with Harry [Lawtey, who plays Rob] first and I immediately text him: ‘What’s Kit like?’”
Harington believes that Henry’s attraction to Yasmin stems from his own inflated ego. “What Henry sees in Yasmin is someone who understands his world, coming from money and privilege,” he explains. “He thinks he can rescue her. He can see these troubles that she’s having, he can swoop in as this knight in shining armour, and he finds that alluring, being the saviour. It’s all wrapped up in self.”
But that’s not to say Yasmin is powerless in this situation; Harington and Abela agree that there’s “definitely a bit of kink” in their relationship, which occasionally slips into Freudian territory. “Yas can be so manipulative,” Abela explains. “She has that intense sensitivity and paranoia that puts her on the attack. She’s like a hyena in that sense.”
Harington observes that there's perhaps an assumption that a lot of the bullying and backstabbing depicted in Industry is heightened for dramatic effect. “The depiction of people, humanity and human nature, I hope to God isn’t accurate in many ways,” he says. “But I met an ex-financial guy who worked on the trading floor who was a fan of Industry, and I was like, 'So it’s a bit exaggerated, right?' and he was like, 'No, it’s not.'”
However, while the content of Industry may focus on bad behaviour, being an actor on the programme has shown Abela security and comfort. “In a way, [Industry] taught be stability,” she says. “The actual show teaches you people can be ruthless, but it’s the most stable my life has been as an actor, when you’re working on a job like this for six months. It kind of taught me the opposite of what the show sets out to do.”
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