Kit Harington

Kit Harington
Harington in 2014
Born	Christopher Catesby Harington (1986-12-26) 26 December 1986 (age 30) Acton, London, England
Alma mater	Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2008–present

Christopher Catesby "Kit" Harington (born 26 December 1986) is an English actor. He rose to prominence playing the role of Jon Snow in the HBO television series Game of Thrones (2011–present), which garnered him a nomination for the 2016 Primetime Emmy Award. In 2017, Harington became one of the highest paid actors on television and earned US$1.1 million per episode of Game of Thrones.

Harington also played lead roles in the films Pompeii (2014), Testament of Youth (2014), and Spooks: The Greater Good (2015), as well as supporting roles in the films Silent Hill: Revelation (2012), Seventh Son (2014) and How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014).

Harington was born on 26 December 1986 in Acton, London, to Deborah Jane (Catesby), a former playwright, and Sir David Richard Harington, 15th Baronet, a businessman. His full birth name is Christopher Catesby Harington. His mother named him after Christopher Marlowe, whose first name was shortened to Kit, a name Harington prefers. Harington's uncle was Sir Nicholas John Harington, 14th Baronet, and his patrilineal great-grandfather was Sir Richard Harington, 12th Baronet. Through his paternal grandmother, Lavender Cecilia Denny, Harington's eighth-great-grandfather was Charles II of England. Also, through his father, Harington descends from Scottish politician Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville.

Harington was a pupil at the Southfield Primary School from 1992 to 1998. When he was 11, his family moved to Worcestershire and he studied at the Chantry High School in Martley until 2003. He became interested in acting after watching a production of Waiting for Godot when he was 14, and he performed in several school productions.