Kit Harington facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kit Harington
Harington at the season eight premiere of Game of Thrones in 2019
Born	Christopher Catesby Harington (1986-12-26) 26 December 1986 (age 38) London, England
Alma mater	Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2008–present
Spouse(s)	Rose Leslie ​ (m. 2018)​
Children	2
Relatives	John Harington (ancestor) Robert Catesby (ancestor)

Christopher Catesby Harington (born on December 26, 1986), known as Kit Harington, is a British actor. He is most famous for playing Jon Snow in the fantasy TV show Game of Thrones (2011–2019). For this role, he earned many awards nominations, including for the Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy Awards.

Kit Harington went to the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. He started his acting career in 2009 in the play War Horse in London's West End. Since then, he has acted in many other plays, like Doctor Faustus (2016) and Henry V (2022).

He also helped create, produce, and star in the 2017 BBC drama series Gunpowder. He has appeared in other TV shows such as Modern Love (2021) and Extrapolations (2023). In movies, he has been in Pompeii (2014) and Eternals (2021) from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He also lent his voice to the character Eret in the How to Train Your Dragon animated films (2014–2019).

Kit Harington's Early Life & Family

Christopher Catesby Harington was born in Acton, west London, on December 26, 1986. His mother named him after a famous writer, Christopher Marlowe. She shortened Christopher to Kit, which is the name he prefers. He didn't even know his full name until he was eleven years old!

His parents are Sir David Harington, a businessman, and Deborah Jane, a former writer. Kit Harington has a connection to an important event in British history, the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. His family is related to Robert Catesby, who led the plot, and also to King James I, who was the target of the plot.

Kit went to Southfield Primary School from 1992 to 1998. When he was eleven, his family moved to Worcestershire. He attended Chantry High School until 2003. He became interested in acting at age fourteen after seeing a play called Waiting for Godot. He performed in many school plays. He then studied Drama and Theatre at Worcester Sixth Form College from 2003 to 2005. At seventeen, he decided to go to drama school after seeing an actor named Ben Whishaw perform as Hamlet. In 2005, Kit moved back to London and joined the Central School of Speech and Drama, where he finished his studies in 2008.

Becoming an Actor: Kit's Career Journey

Starting in Theatre (2008–2010)

Before becoming an actor, Kit Harington actually wanted to be a journalist. While still in drama school, he got a role in the play War Horse at the Royal National Theatre. This play was very successful and helped Kit become well-known. After that, he was cast in another play called Posh, which was a comedy about students at Oxford University.

Breakthrough with Game of Thrones (2011–2018)

Kit Harington at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con

After War Horse, Kit Harington tried out for and got his first TV role as Jon Snow in the series Game of Thrones. The show started in 2011 and quickly became very popular. Game of Thrones is set in a fantasy world with different noble families fighting for power. Jon Snow is introduced as the son of Ned Stark, a respected lord. Kit's scenes were filmed in beautiful places like Iceland and Northern Ireland. The show finished after eight seasons in April 2019.

People really liked Kit's acting as Jon Snow. In 2012, he was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 2016, he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.

Kit Harington made his first movie appearance in 2012 in Silent Hill: Revelation, a horror film based on a video game. In 2013, he won the Actor of the Year award at the Young Hollywood Awards. His first big lead role in a movie was in Pompeii (2014). For this film, Kit worked out a lot to change his body. The movie got mixed reviews. That same year, Kit also voiced Eret in the animated film How to Train Your Dragon 2, which was a big success and won a Golden Globe Award.

Kit Harington at the season three premiere of Game of Thrones in 2013

In 2014, Kit also appeared in the fantasy film Seventh Son with Jeff Bridges. In 2015, he starred in the HBO comedy 7 Days in Hell, a short film about a long tennis match. In 2016, Kit played the main bad guy, Salen Kotch, in the video game Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. He also acted in a West End play called Doctor Faustus.

In 2017, Kit Harington wrote, starred in, and produced Gunpowder, a three-part historical drama for BBC. It was based on the true story of the Gunpowder Plot. He played his own ancestor, Robert Catesby. In 2018, Kit starred in the play True West in London. He also hosted the TV show Saturday Night Live in 2019, and his Game of Thrones co-stars, Rose Leslie and Emilia Clarke, made guest appearances.

Expanding His Career (2020–Present)

In 2020, Kit Harington appeared in the second season of the Netflix show Criminal: UK. In 2019, he joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Dane Whitman in the movie Eternals (2021). That same year, he was in the second season of the Amazon Prime Video series Modern Love.

In 2022, Kit played the main role in the play Henry V. There was also talk about a Jon Snow spin-off series from A Song of Ice and Fire author George R. R. Martin, but Kit later said the show was not happening for now.

In 2023, Kit Harington was in the Apple TV+ series Extrapolations. In 2024, he joined the play Slave Play in London. He also had a role in the third season of the HBO/BBC One series Industry.

Kit Harington's Personal Life

In 2017, Kit Harington bought a historic 15th-century house outside Ipswich, Suffolk.

Kit started dating his Game of Thrones co-star Rose Leslie in 2011. They announced their engagement in 2017 and got married on June 23, 2018, in Scotland. They welcomed their son in February 2021. In February 2023, Kit announced they were expecting their second child, and their daughter was born in July 2023.

In 2019, Kit Harington took some time to get help for personal challenges. He is a big fan of football and supports Manchester United.

Helping Others: Kit's Charity Work

Kit Harington at Comic Con in 2014

Kit Harington is involved in many charity projects. In 2015, he joined other famous actors like Benedict Cumberbatch and Nicole Kidman in a special charity play called The Children's Monologues. The money raised went to Dramatic Need, a charity that helps children in South Africa and Rwanda who have faced difficult times.

Since 2016, Kit has been an ambassador for The Royal Mencap Society. This organization helps people with learning difficulties and supports their families in the United Kingdom. He also became a patron of Longlands Care Farm, a charity that helps young people aged 14-19 who are struggling in school.

In 2016, Kit Harington, along with other actors like Cate Blanchett and Keira Knightley, appeared in a video for the UNHCR. This video aimed to raise awareness about the global refugee crisis and encourage governments to provide more help and opportunities for refugees.

In 2017, Kit supported Mencap's #StopSleepInCrisis campaign, asking the government to help fund carers for people with learning disabilities. In 2018, he joined a charity event celebrating the work of writer Harold Pinter. The money raised went to Amnesty International and Chance to Shine.

In 2022, during the conflict in Ukraine, Kit Harington supported a humanitarian campaign. He appeared in a video asking for help for Ukrainian refugees and even auctioned off signed Game of Thrones items to raise money for Ukraine.

Kit Harington's Acting Roles

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Movies

List of Kit Harrington film credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	Silent Hill: Revelation	Vincent Smith
2014	Pompeii	Milo
	How to Train Your Dragon 2	Eret	Voice role
	Testament of Youth	Roland Leighton
	Seventh Son	Billy Bradley
2015	Spooks: The Greater Good	Will Holloway
2016	Brimstone	Samuel
2018	The Death & Life of John F. Donovan	John F. Donovan
2019	How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World	Eret	Voice role
2021	Eternals	Dane Whitman
2022	Baby Ruby	Spencer
2023	Blood for Dust	Ricky
2024	The Beast Within	Noah
TBA	Eternal Return	Virgil	Post-production
TBA	The Dreadful	Jago	Post-production
TBA	The Family Plan 2		Filming

Television Shows

Key

Denotes television series that have not yet been released

Theatre Plays

Radio Shows

Video Games

Awards and Nominations

Images for kids

• 

  Arms of the Harington baronets

See also

In Spanish: Kit Harington para niños