Do we like Kit Harington?
Our score: 7 out of 10. Decent record on gay representation, climate and charity, with one contested project and one clumsy old comment on sexism.
Most people know Kit Harington as Jon Snow, the brooding hero of Game of Thrones. He's been back in the headlines this year for two reasons: his blunt reaction to the fan petition to remake the show's last season, and his move into the Harry Potter world.
The Harry Potter bit is the sticking point for us. He's replacing Nicholas Hoult as Lockhart in season two, and the series has drawn criticism over Rowling's comments about trans people, which PinkNews describes. On the Today show he called the reboot a “great idea”, but he didn't address the Rowling row at all.
So here's the harm check, plainly. We found no words from him against trans or gay people. What we found is the company: he took a job on a show Rowling still works on, and said nothing about the controversy. That's an asterisk, not a fail, and it's about the project, not his words.
On gay representation his record is better than most. In 2018 he told Variety there was a “big problem with masculinity and homosexuality” in Marvel casting, and asked when a gay actor would play a superhero. He also said a gay role doesn't have to go to a gay actor, which some will disagree with, but it's a position held in good faith.
He has put his name to the planet, too. In 2023 he and Rose Leslie made a video for the Make My Money Matter campaign, urging UK banks to stop funding new fossil fuel projects. He also donated nearly $10,000 to a fan-run fundraiser for the charity Mencap in 2019, which pushed it past its target.
The stain is old and small. In a 2016 interview he said men face sexism too, and critics felt that put his experience on par with what women face, according to The Tab. He has talked since about men and masculinity, saying his upbringing was “very gender fluid”. That's a clumsy moment, not a pattern.