Kit Harington is trying to play roles that "scare" him.

The 'Game of Thrones' star has revealed that he is attempting to take on projects that require him to leave his comfort zone as he plays the villainous Ricky in the upcoming film 'Blood for Dust' after making his name as the heroic Jon Snow in the fantasy series.

Kit told The Hollywood Reporter: "At the moment, and for the last couple of years, I'm trying to – and that's another reason why I wanted to play this role – take roles that I'm a bit scared about doing.

"It's fun playing a baddie, I think. I spent a long time playing the epitome of a good, honest human, trying to do the right thing that everyone's rooting for. And maybe this is a reaction to the length of time I was doing that."

The star's alter ego in 'Blood for Dust' is an illegal weapons dealer who is prone to violence and Kit described the antagonist as "gnarly".

The 35-year-old actor said: "I'm playing a pretty gnarly dude.

"It's not necessarily a part that I would generally get offered, and that's quite interesting to me."

Kit has revealed that he will have to master a Missouri accent for Rod Blackhurst's film and it will require extra research.

He said: "We feel that (my character) is possibly from Missouri, so I'm going to be doing a specific American accent for it. And that's a big step, because an English guy like me has little to do with Missouri.

"So it requires that bit more research to make sure you're not just affecting something. But I'm deep in that moment, and it certainly feels like the right place for the character to come from."

Harington admits that independent films are appealing at this point in his career as he shares a young son with his wife Rose Leslie.

The 'Eternals' star said: "It is a medium that more and more fits my life at the moment.

"Having a young son, having done a TV show for a long time, the opportunity to go and play interesting, odd characters for a couple of months, here and there, is appealing to me."