CHARACTER · GAME OF THRONES
Jon Snow
- Appears in
- Game of Thrones (2011)
- Played by
- Kit Harington
37 archived facts 7 topics 2 sources Last reviewed Oct 2026
Jon Snow is a character in the TV series Game of Thrones (2011), played by Kit Harington.
37 Interesting Facts About Jon Snow
Interesting Facts (1)
Production Story (4)
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Author George R.R. Martin was approached several times with offers to adapt his (still unfinished) book series "A Song of Ice and Fire" into a movie, but he rejected them all, as he thought his books were much too expansive to be made into a movie. He had purposely written them to be virtually unfilmable, and he also declined offers to adapt only certain storylines from the book. When David Benioff and D.B. Weiss told him that they wanted to make a series out of it, he asked them who they thought Jon Snow's mother could be. Satisfied with the answer, he agreed to sell the rights to the book. The two showrunners later admitted that they tricked HBO into greenlighting the series by convincing them that it was mostly about human drama and character interactions, and could therefore be produced relatively cheaply. They had correctly guessed that none of the studio executives had actually read all of the 4000 pages that Martin had written at the time, and that they had no idea of the expensive scenes that were to come in the future.
- #004
In the pilot episode of 'Game of Thrones', Kit Harington wore a wig for the role of Jon Snow. For the rest of the first season, however, he grew his hair out and used his natural look. This change made the character appear more realistic and natural. Harington had to be patient while growing his hair out. This detail shows the importance given to detail in the series' production process.
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Behind the Scenes (4)
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The first season used Northern Inuit dogs, a type specifically bred for wolf-like appearance, to stand in for the direwolves (the Stark's house sigil). However, since direwolves are known to be much larger than normal wolves, real wolves were digitally composited into scenes for season two. This strained the budget and the schedule, which is why there are only a handful of scenes with Grey Wind (Robb's wolf), Summer (Bran's wolf), and Shaggydog (Rickon's wolf); Ghost, who belonged to Jon Snow, was shown in brief glimpses.
- #007
In 2012, Kit Harington was locked out of his London apartment and broke his ankle falling while trying to climb back in. The accident happened during filming of the third season of 'Game of Thrones', and the crew went to great lengths to hide the injury on camera. Stunt doubles wearing Jon Snow wigs were used, and filming was completed that way. Harington was so troubled by the situation that he gave the production manager a bottle of whisky as an apology.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
In a 2014 interview, Sean Bean, who played Ned Stark, was asked about the possibility of returning to the series in flashback scenes and left the door open to the fans' theory, saying, "There's an unfinished business there that needs to be resolved. Obviously I'm not Jon Snow's father."
Characters & Cast (13)
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Each of the Stark children adopted one of six orphaned Direwolves (similar to conventional wolves except for being much larger and powerful) which appears on the Stark banner as their sygil. They were - Grey Wind/Robb, Lady/Sansa, Nymeria/Arya, Summer/Bran, ShaggyDog/Rickon, and the runt of the litter Ghost went to the bastard Jon Snow.
- #011
Kit Harington wore long hair for the first time for his character Jon Snow in 'Game of Thrones'. The actor, who said he had never had long hair before, actually had to wear a wig in the first season. In later episodes of the series he grew his hair out to solve the problem. Harington stated that after the series ended he planned to cut his hair short again. The change was an important process for him both physically and in terms of identifying with the character.
- #012
Kit Harington's natural hair color is dark brown. To play Jon Snow in 'Game of Thrones', he had to dye his hair black. This color change was important for emphasizing the character's northern appearance. Harington took care of his hair during this process and successfully reflected the look the role required.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
After returning from beyond the Wall, Jon saves Lord Commander Jeor Mormont's life from a reanimated wight. Mormont shows his gratitude by giving him Longclaw, a Valyrian steel sword that House Mormont had kept for generations; the sword's pommel is remade in the shape of a wolf's head for Jon.
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Contains a major spoiler — show
At Hardhome, where Jon goes to persuade the wildlings to join an alliance against the White Walkers, he destroys a White Walker with Longclaw during the attack. This reveals that Valyrian steel can kill these creatures, a discovery that shapes the rest of the story.
- #019
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the fifth season finale, Jon is stabbed to death in a trap set by his Night's Watch brothers, who are enraged by his decision to give the wildlings land south of the Wall. The scene provoked an extremely strong reaction among viewers, and whether the character would return was debated for months.
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- #021
Contains a major spoiler — show
During the period when he infiltrated the wildlings, Jon falls in love with one of them, Ygritte. But when he learns of the wildlings' plan to invade the south, he turns his back on her and his new friends and returns to the Night's Watch to defend the Wall.
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Deeper Meaning (3)
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Contains a major spoiler — show
The identity of Jon's mother became one of the questions readers debated most for years. According to the theory fans called "R+L=J," Jon was not Ned Stark's son but the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Ned's sister Lyanna Stark; Ned raised him as his own illegitimate child to protect him.
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Career & Awards (2)
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In 2018 ten principal characters from the series appeared on the UK's Royal Mail postage stamps including: Daenerys (Emilia Clarke), Jon Snow (Kit Harington), Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), Arya (Maisie Williams), Cersei (Lena Headey), Sansa (Sophie Turner), Eddard (Sean Bean), Olenna (Diana Rigg), and Tywin (Charles Dance). Other stamps feature the Night King, Giants, Direwolves, Dragons, and the Iron Throne.
- #027
Before starting his acting career, Kit Harington worked in a bookshop, where he constantly had to carry the heavy volumes of George R.R. Martin's 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series. This led the young Harington to develop a coldness toward the author. Shortly afterward, however, he would take on the role of Jon Snow in 'Game of Thrones', the television adaptation of that series, and the role would become a turning point in his career.
Life & Family (1)
About Game of Thrones and its cast (9)
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Kit Harington broke his ankle in 2012 when he was locked out of his apartment building in London and fell while trying to climb to his flat. During season three of this show, the crew had to figure out how to shoot around the injury, including the use of stand-ins in "Jon Snow wigs." Harington felt so guilty that he bought the production manager a bottle of whiskey.
- #031
HBO approached Kit Harington about starring in a Jon Snow spin-off series. He initially declined, but "then I thought there could be an interesting and important story about the soldier after the war. I felt that there might be something left to say and a story left to tell in a pretty limited way... We spent a couple of years back and forth developing it, and it just didn't... nothing got us excited enough. In the end, I kind of backed out and said, 'I think if we push this any further and keep developing it we could end up with something that's not good. And that's the last thing we all want.'" In 2025, Harington was reluctant to return to the role, explaining, "I don't want to go anywhere near it. I spent 10 years doing that. Thanks, I'm all right." However, in 2026, he said he was more open to a Snow spin-off, "We developed it two years or so. I still think there's a world in which something could work. I wouldn't have gone into it in the first place if I didn't. But I was very insistent at the start - as was HBO and George R.R. Martin - of like: 'If we don't find the right thing, let's not do it. It's much better if we don't.' After a little while of of thinking about it - it kind of was me - [I said], 'This isn't quite the right [story].' [But] now I've gone and done all these other things and now I feel more comfortable with that character and that world again and where it sits in my life."
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He broke his ankle in 2012 when he was locked out of his apartment building in London and fell while trying to climb to his flat. During Season 3 of Game of Thrones (2011) the film crew had to figure out how to shoot around the injury, including the use of stand-ins in "Jon Snow wigs". Harington felt so guilty that he bought the production manager a bottle of whiskey.
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Sources & editorial notes
Sources for the entries on this page
- Wikipedia Wikipedia — Jon Snow
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