Kit Harington

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.

Christopher Catesby "Kit" Harington (born 26 December 1986) is an English actor.

Christopher Catesby Harington was born on 26 December 1986 in Acton, west London.

His mother named him after Christopher Marlowe, whose first name was shortened to Kit, a name Harington prefers.

He did not learn what his full name was until age eleven.

Harington was educated at Southfield Primary School from 1992 to 1998.

When he was eleven, the family moved to Worcestershire and he attended Chantry High School in Martley until 2003.

He became interested in acting after seeing a production of Waiting for Godot when he was fourteen, and he performed in several school productions.

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.

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.

Before acting, Harington originally wanted to become a journalist.

While still at drama school, he landed the role of Albert in the National Theatre's adaptation of War Horse.

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.

After War Horse, Harington auditioned for and landed his first television role as Jon Snow in the series Game of Thrones.

A graduate of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Harington made his professional acting debut in 2009 with the lead role of Albert Narracott in the West End play War Horse.

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.

The show debuted in 2011 to great critical acclaim and was quickly picked up by the network for a second season.

Harington's role was largely filmed in Iceland and Northern Ireland.

In 2012, he was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television for the role.

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.

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.

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.

The film was panned by critics and met with modest box office success.

That year, Harington also voiced Eret in the DreamWorks Animation film How to Train Your Dragon 2, which was a critically acclaimed box office success, won the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film and received an Academy Award nomination.

His film roles include the historical romance film Pompeii (2014), the period drama Testament of Youth (2014), the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Eternals (2021), and a voice role in the second and third films of the How to Train Your Dragon film series (2014–2019).

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.

In 2016, Harington was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

He developed, produced, and starred as Robert Catesby in the 2017 BBC drama series Gunpowder.

In 2017, Harington had reportedly become one of the highest-paid actors on television, earning £2 million per episode of Game of Thrones.

The series concluded its run with its eighth season in April 2019.

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.

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.

Harington received critical praise for his portrayal of Snow.