Claim: Jon Snow is played by an English actor.

Jon Snow is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin , and its television adaptation Game of Thrones . He is a prominent point of view character in the novels , and has been called one of the author 's `` finest creations '' and most popular characters by The New York Times . Jon is a main character in the TV series , and his storyline in the 2015 season 5 finale generated a strong reaction among viewers . Speculation about the character 's parentage has also been a popular topic of discussion among fans of both the books and the TV series .   Jon is introduced in 1996 's A Game of Thrones as the illegitimate son of Ned Stark , the honorable lord of Winterfell , an ancient fortress in the North of the fictional kingdom of Westeros . Knowing his prospects are limited by his status , Jon joins the Night 's Watch , who guard the far northern borders from the wildlings who live beyond The Wall . As the rest of the Starks face grave adversity , Jon finds himself honor bound to remain with the Watch . In A Clash of Kings -LRB- 1998 -RRB- , he joins a scouting party investigating the growing threat from the otherworldly `` Others '' beyond the Wall , and manages to infiltrate the wildlings . Jon learns of their plans to invade Westeros in A Storm of Swords -LRB- 2000 -RRB- , and begins to fall in love with the fierce wildling woman Ygritte . He betrays them -- and Ygritte -- before they can attack , but the Night Watch 's victory comes at a heavy price for Jon . Now the Lord Commander of the Watch , he appears briefly in 2005 's A Feast for Crows . Jon returns as a prominent character in a A Dance with Dragons -LRB- 2011 -RRB- , working to negotiate an alliance between the Night 's Watch and the wildlings . The growing animosity he has attracted from among the Watch finally catches up with him , and he is forced to face the dire consequences .   Jon is portrayed by Kit Harington on the HBO series Game of Thrones . His storyline follows the character 's plot arc from the novel series , though season 6 of the TV adaptation continued on from the events of Martin 's latest published installment . Harington was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the role in 2016 . He was also nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television in 2012 and 2016 . He and the rest of the cast were nominated for Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2012 , 2014 , 2015 and 2016 .