Kit Harington

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. His parents are Sir David Harington, 15th Bt, a businessman and baronet, and former playwright Deborah Jane Catesby. Through his father, Harington descends from Scottish politician Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville. 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.

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.