For Kit Harington, Game of Thrones was not only revolutionary for his career, but it was also the beginning of it. Similar to co-star Emilia Clarke, Harington’s role as Jon Snow will forever go down as his best performance. His first big feature was the 2014 film Pompeii, which took a fictional love-story take of the famous Mount Vesuvius rupture that destroyed the town. While the film received mixed reviews, Harington’s performance ultimately helped carry the narrative. His physical appearance was also something to admire!
On a more serious note, in the three-episode series on HBO, Gunpowder, Harington produced and starred in the based-on-a-true-story miniseries that aired in 2017. As outlined by TIME, the miniseries followed the failed attempt to blow up the House of Parliament back in 1605. Incidentally, Harington’s character of Robert Catesby is of distant relation to Harington via his mother’s side.
His cameo as Dan Whitman or the Black Knight in Eternals has fans wondering what is next for Harington in the MCU. Indeed, fans think his Black Knight would make a great inclusion into the universe. From voice-overs in the How to Train Your Dragon franchise to action and even romance films, here’s a look at some of Kit Harington’s five best performances, ranked.
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5 Gunpowder
HBO
In the three-episode TV miniseries Gunpowder, Harington plays Robert Catesby. The historical thriller looks into the infamous Gunpowder Plot, which was a plan to blow up Parliament back in 1605. As a devout Catholic living in a time of Protestant reign, Catesby devises the plan that ultimately fails, but was forever remembered. You may be more familiar with the ally he brings in, Guy Fawkes, as his name and face have been referenced in popular movies like V for Vendetta.
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The HBO limited series was often reviewed as only being greenlit due to Harington’s popularity during that time, thanks to Game of Thrones, and that it was his desire to do the project that allowed it to be produced. Some viewers have said the plot is missing from the miniseries, but that Harington’s performance nonetheless makes up for missing action.
4 Testament of Youth
Sony Pictures Classics
On a lighter note, or genre, Harington can also pull off a romance drama. The 2014 coming-of-age film Testament of Youth looks into the life of a young woman during World War I. The film is based on the true story of Vera Brittain, a woman who joins the army as a nurse after her fiancé, Harington’s character, and her brother enlist.
This beautiful story is adapted from real-life Vera Brittain’s memoir and stars Alicia Vikander as the young Vera and Harington as her fiancé, Roland. Their chemistry between the two helps to make their love story a kind most yearn for.
3 How to Train Your Dragon 2 & How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
DreamWorks Animation
In the second and third films of the How To Train Your Dragon franchise, Harington joins as Eret, a dragon trapper who changes his colors after meeting Hiccup and his Night Fury, Toothless. In How to Train Your Dragon 2, his character captures and sells dragons to the bad guy, Drago Bludvist. Eret and Hiccup end up befriending each other and by How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, they are good friends.
Eret is similar to Harington’s character of Jon Snow from Game of Thrones. He is both kind and strong with a good moral compass, though, for Eret, it takes some time for that to come out. Both are skillful fighters and ruggedly handsome.
2 Pompeii
Constantin Film
In Harington’s first feature-length film, we get to see him in a romantic take on the famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Milo, played by Harington, is a young gladiator who captures the eye of the emperor’s daughter Cassia when he puts her house out of its misery after it was injured. Corvious, who is an ill-tempered general is also seeking the young Cassia’s affection though she does not return the favor. When he finds out about Milo, the two end up battling one another to save Cassia when Mount Vesuvius erupts.
While Pompeii is more of a fictional disaster film rather than an accurate historical depiction, the cutesy love story is worth watching. Harington does a great job in his first role at commanding attention during his scenes. True to his character of Jon Snow, he is a hero and great in battle.
1 Game of Thrones
It’s no surprise that Harington’s best performance is that of his eight-season role as Jon Snow in HBO Max’s Game of Thrones. As a bastard son of one of the noble families, Jon Snow knows his place in life, which is a spot atop The Wall. His time there is short-lived though and leads him into a life he could never have expected.
We could write an entire article on Jon Snow’s best episodes of the hit fantasy-adventure show as his character has one of the better character arcs. From being essentially a nobody to being the last King of the Targaryen line, Jon Snow was a name everyone in Westeros knew. Harington was nominated for an Emmy twice for his performance as Jon Snow in 2016 and 2019. Though he did not win either nomination, his acting helped the series win a mere 59 Emmys during its time on air. Currently, Game of Thrones is available to stream on HBO Max.
