Christopher Catesby Harington[2] (born 26 December 1986), known professionally as Kit Harington, is an English actor. He is best known for his role as
Jon Snow in the
HBO fantasy television series Game of Thrones (2011–2019), for which he received nominations for a
Golden Globe Award and two
Primetime Emmy Awards.
Christopher Catesby Harington[4] was born on 26 December 1986 in
Acton, west London.[5][6] His mother named him after
Christopher Marlowe, whose first name was shortened to Kit,[7] a name Harington prefers. He did not learn what his full name was until age eleven.[8] His parents are
Sir David Harington, 15th Bt, a businessman and baronet, and former playwright Deborah Jane. Through his father, Harington descends from Scottish politician
Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville.[9] Harington is related to men who were involved on opposite sides of the
Gunpowder Plot (1605). He claims a family connection with the leader of the plot,
Robert Catesby, on his mother's side, while through his father's side, he is related to King
James I, the target of the assassination attempt, and to
Lord Harington of Exton, who was in the Houses of Parliament that Catesby and his co-conspirators tried to blow up.[10]
Harington was educated at Southfield Primary School from 1992 to 1998. When he was eleven, the family moved to
Worcestershire[11][12] and he attended
Chantry High School in
Martley until 2003.[13] He became interested in acting after seeing a production of Waiting for Godot when he was fourteen,[14] and he performed in several school productions.[13] He attended
Worcester Sixth Form College, where he studied Drama and Theatre (2003–05). When he was seventeen, he was inspired to attend a drama school after seeing a performance by
Ben Whishaw as
Hamlet in 2004.[11][15] Harington moved back to London in 2005 at the age of 18 after completing Sixth Form and, later that year, enrolled at the
Central School of Speech and Drama, where he graduated in 2008.[16][17]
Career
2008–2010: Early work in theatre
Before acting, Harington originally wanted to become a journalist.[18] While still at drama school, he landed the role of Albert in the
National Theatre's adaptation of War Horse.[4][18] The play won two
Olivier Awards and gained Harington a great deal of recognition. He was later cast in his second play Posh, a dark ensemble comedy about upper-class men attending Oxford University.[4]
2011–2018: Game of Thrones breakthrough and film roles
After War Horse, Harington auditioned for and landed his first television role as
Jon Snow in the series Game of Thrones. The show debuted in 2011 to great critical acclaim and was quickly picked up by the network for a second season.[19][20] Harington's role was largely filmed in Iceland and Northern Ireland.[21] The series concluded its run with its eighth season in April 2019.[22]Game of Thrones takes place on the fictional continents of
Westeros and
Essos and chronicles the power struggles among noble families as they fight for control of the
Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms.[23] Jon Snow is introduced as the illegitimate son of
Ned Stark, the honourable lord of Winterfell, an ancient fortress in the North of the fictional continent of
Westeros.[24]
Harington made his feature film debut in 2012 as Vincent in Silent Hill: Revelation 3D. The horror film was based on the
survival horror video game Silent Hill 3, and was a sequel to the film Silent Hill.[29] He was honoured with Actor of the Year at the Young Hollywood Awards 2013, which celebrates the best emerging young talent in film, music and television.[30]
Harington's first major lead role in a feature film occurred when he played Milo in the film Pompeii. Production for the film commenced in 2013 and took place in and around
Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Some scenes were also shot in the actual city of
Pompeii itself.[31] The film was panned by critics and met with modest box office success.[32][33] That year, Harington also voiced Eret in the
DreamWorks Animation film How to Train Your Dragon 2,[34] which was a critically acclaimed box office success,[35] won the
Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film and received an Academy Award nomination.[36][37]
In 2014, Harington also appeared alongside
Jeff Bridges in the film Seventh Son, a poorly received fantasy–adventure film.[38] Harington played Billy Bradley, Bridges' first apprentice killed early in the film by a character played by
Julianne Moore.
Ben Barnes,
Alicia Vikander and
Emily Watson also star.[39] The film was released in wide distribution in the UK on 16 January 2015. Its world premiere was in The Centrepiece Gala, supported by the Mayor of London, at the
British Film Institute London Film Festival in October 2014.[40][41]
In 2016, Harington starred as Salen Kotch, the main villain in the first-person shooter video game Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.[49] That same year he starred in a
West End production of Doctor Faustus.[50] The production, as well as his performance received unfavourable critical reviews.[51][52]
In June 2018, it was announced that Harington would star in the West End upcoming stage play True West, written by
Sam Shepard and directed by
Matthew Dunster. The play premiered in November 2018 at the
Vaudeville Theatre in London and closed in February 2019.[54][55]
2020-present
In 2020, Harington took part in a virtual performance of an extract from the play Burn by playwright Chris Thompson.[56]
In September 2020, it was announced[57] that he would appear in the second season of the
Netflix anthology series Criminal: UK. The series premiered on 16 September to positive reviews.[58]
In May 2022, it was announced that Harington would star in Mary’s Monster, a film about author
Mary Shelley's mental struggle to write her 1818 novel Frankenstein.[62] That same month, he also joined
Scoot McNairy and
Josh Lucas in the action thriller Blood for Dust.[63] In June 2022, A Song of Ice and Fire author
George R. R. Martin revealed that a
Jon Snowspin-off series was in early development, and that it was Harington who first brought the idea for the project.[64] Harington later revealed that the show was no longer in development, stating that the team "couldn't find the right story to tell" and that the project was "off the table for the forseeable future."[65][66]
Harington is producing a TV thriller, Empire of Dirt described as "a very British Western" about a maven who discovers his family is running a drugs racket.[67]
Personal life
In 2017, Harington purchased a £1.75 million 15th-century country home outside
Ipswich,
Suffolk.[68]
Harington began a relationship with his Game of Thrones co-star
Rose Leslie in 2011. They announced their engagement through the 'Forthcoming Marriages' section of The Times on 27 September 2017.[69]
On 23 June 2018, the couple married at Rayne Parish Church in
Aberdeenshire, Scotland.[70] In September 2020, Leslie posed for a magazine photo shoot visibly pregnant.[71] They had a son, by February 2021.[72] In February 2023, Harington announced he and Leslie were expecting their second child.[73] In July 2023, the couple confirmed the birth of their daughter.[74]
In May 2019, Harington checked into a mental health and wellness facility to seek help for "some personal issues".[75][76] In 2024, Harington opened up about his struggles with anxiety and alcoholism and revealed that he had been diagnosed with
ADHD while in rehab.[77][78][79]
Since April 2016, Harington has been an ambassador for
The Royal Mencap Society; a leading organisation in the United Kingdom helping people with learning difficulties that also provides support for their families and caregivers.[84] On 16 April 2016, he was appointed as a patron of Longlands Care Farm, a charity located on a working livestock farm in
Worcestershire, in which they care for, mentor and support disadvantaged and vulnerable young people aged 14 – 19 who are not succeeding in mainstream education.[85][86][87] On 12 September 2016, Harington, as well as
Cate Blanchett,
Chiwetel Ejiofor,
Peter Capaldi,
Douglas Booth,
Neil Gaiman,
Keira Knightley,
Juliet Stevenson,
Jesse Eisenberg, and
Stanley Tucci, featured in a video from the
United Nations' refugee agency
UNHCR to help raise awareness of the global
refugee crisis.[88] The video, titled "What They Took With Them", has the actors reading a poem, written by Jenifer Toksvig and inspired by primary accounts of refugees, and is part of UNHCR's #WithRefugees campaign, which also includes a petition to governments to expand asylum to provide further shelter, integrating job opportunities, and education.[89]
In August 2017, with a video backing
Mencap #StopSleepInCrisis, Harington called on the government to fund six years' back pay for overnight carers. In a personal message of support, Harington said: "The learning disability sector in the UK is on the brink of crisis. It is faced with a back-pay bill of £400 million which it cannot pay. Many of the providers of this essential, 'sleep-in' service, face bankruptcy. And some of the most vulnerable people in our society will be left, without care, without hope and without an independent future. Stand with Mencap and stand with the incredible people our colleagues support and care for every day."[90]
In 2022, during the
Russian invasion of Ukraine, Harington supported a
humanitarian campaign by starring in a video where he asked to help Ukrainian refugees.[92] Harington auctioned off signed Game of Thrones memorabilia to support Ukraine.[93]