Jonathan Harker is a fictional character and one of the main characters in Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula. An English lawyer, his journey to Transylvania and meeting with the vampire Count Dracula and his brides at Castle Dracula form the beginning of the novel and many film versions.

Stoker used the last name "Harker" from his friend Joseph Cunningham Harker (1855–1920), who was a set designer at the Lyceum Theatre in London. Joseph was the father of actor William Gordon Harker (1885–1967) and the great-grandfather of actress Polly Adams. Polly's daughters, Susannah Harker and Caroline Harker, became actresses and chose to use the Harker surname for their stage names.

In the novel

Harker is a newly licensed lawyer from Exeter, assigned by his employer, Mr. Hawkins, to act as a real estate agent for a foreign client named Count Dracula, who wants to move to London. Harker finds a suitable home in Carfax, near Purfleet, Essex, and travels by train to Transylvania to meet Dracula and discuss the property.

At Bistritz, Harker takes a coach to the Borgo Pass, where another coach drawn by four black horses waits to take him to Castle Dracula, located in the Carpathian Mountains. At the castle, Harker meets Count Dracula, who completes the property transaction. Soon after, Harker realizes he has been captured by Dracula, who is revealed to be a vampire. Harker also faces danger from Dracula’s three seductive brides, whose advances are stopped by Dracula himself. Dracula promises to give Harker to the brides after their business deal is complete and gives them a "wiggling bag" (which Harker believes is a human child) to calm them. Dracula then leaves for England, leaving Harker trapped in the castle as a meal for the brides.

Harker escapes and finds safety at a convent. He experiences a mental breakdown after his time with the vampires. His fiancée, Mina Murray, helps him recover with the nuns’ support and later marries him at the convent. Harker returns to England and later sees Dracula in London. After learning that Dracula has killed Mina’s friend Lucy Westenra, Harker joins Abraham Van Helsing, John Seward, Arthur Holmwood, and Quincey Morris in an effort to kill Dracula, who has bitten Mina. Harker’s ability to organize information and track Dracula’s hiding places in London proves valuable.

Harker vows to destroy Dracula and send "his soul forever and ever to burning to hell," even if it costs his own soul. However, as Mina becomes more controlled by Dracula, Harker is uncertain about what to do. He promises Mina he will end her suffering if she fully becomes a vampire, but in his private journal, he writes that if Mina became a vampire, he would become one too to stay with her. Harker ultimately saves Mina by killing Dracula. At the story’s climax, Harker opens Dracula’s coffin and cuts open Dracula’s throat with a kukri knife, while Morris stabs Dracula in the heart with a Bowie knife.

In a postscript note set seven years later, it is revealed that Harker and Mina have a son named after all four members of the group, but they call him Quincey, after Morris, who died helping them destroy Dracula. Harker later visits Dracula’s castle with his wife, son, and surviving friends to remember the events. As Harker returns home with his family, Van Helsing tells him that one day his son will learn the full story.

Portrayals

Actors who have played Harker include:

• Gustav von Wangenheim (as Thomas Hutter) in Nosferatu (1922) – in this version, he fails to kill the vampire and save his wife.
• David Manners (as John Harker) in Dracula (1931) – in this version, he does not go to Transylvania (Renfield goes there instead).
• Barry Norton (as Juan Harker) in Dracula (Spanish version, 1931) – in this version, he does not go to Transylvania (Renfield goes there instead).
• Bülent Oran (as Azmi) in Drakula İstanbul'da (1953) – in this version, he single-handedly destroys Dracula.
• John Van Eyssen in Dracula (1958) – in this version, he is a vampire hunter who is engaged to Lucy, killed by Dracula in his castle, turned into a vampire, and later killed by his colleague, Van Helsing.
• Corin Redgrave in Dracula (1968) – in this version, he goes mad after visiting Dracula’s castle and becomes a character similar to Renfield, who helps Dracula.
• Fred Williams in Count Dracula (1970) – he is portrayed in a way that matches his character in the novel.
• Jan Schánilec in the Czechoslovak TV film Hrabě Drakula (1971) – he is portrayed in a way that matches his character in the novel.
• Murray Brown in Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1974) – in this version, he is killed by Dracula’s brides in his castle and turned into a vampire.
• Bosco Hogan in Count Dracula (1977) – he is portrayed in a way that matches his character in the novel.
• Bruno Ganz in Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) – in this version, he is married to Lucy and becomes a vampire at the end of the film.
• Trevor Eve in Dracula (1979) – in this version, he is engaged to Lucy and does not go to Transylvania.
• Keanu Reeves in Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) – he is portrayed in a way that matches his character in the novel.
• Steven Weber in Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) – in this version, he does not go to Transylvania (Renfield goes there instead).
• Klaha in Bara no Konrei (2001) – in this version, his name is changed to Klaha, but he is portrayed faithfully. He teams up with another vampire, Közi, to defeat the Earl of Dracula.
• Hardy Krüger Jr. in Dracula (2002) – he is reimagined as a modern-day successful American lawyer.
• Johnny A. Wright in Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary (2002).
• Rafe Spall in Dracula (2006) – in this version, he is killed by Dracula in his castle.
• Amouri in Dracula (2008) – an Indian television series on Gemini TV.
• Corey Landis in Dracula Reborn (2012) – in this version, he is reimagined as a modern-day American realtor who sells Dracula’s property in California. He is killed by his wife Mina, who becomes a vampire.
• Unax Ugalde in Dracula 3D (2012) – in this version, he is killed by Dracula and turned into a vampire.
• Oliver Jackson-Cohen in Dracula (television series, 2013) – in this version, he is a clumsy journalist who wants to join the aristocracy.
• John Heffernan in Dracula (television miniseries, 2020) – in this version, he is killed by Dracula and turned into an undead being. He escapes the castle into a convent, but Dracula finishes his undead existence after inviting him into the convent. Dracula briefly wears his face as a disguise.
• Ryan Woodcock in Dracula: The Original Living Vampire (2022) – in this version, Harker takes on a role similar to Van Helsing, as a chemist who believes in the undead. He does not have romantic relationships with Mina or Lucy but helps detective Amelia Van Helsing with her investigations.
• Emrhys Cooper (as Thomas Hutter) in Nosferatu (2023 film).
• Nicholas Hoult (as Thomas Hutter) in Nosferatu (2024 film).

In some adaptations, Harker becomes a vampire (either from Dracula or his brides) and is later killed. In most adaptations, Harker’s role is smaller than in the novel, and attention is given to other characters, such as Van Helsing or Dracula. While Harker and Mina are the central romantic pair in the novel, Mina is often shown as Dracula’s love interest instead of Harker’s. In most adaptations, Van Helsing or another character kills Dracula, while Harker is either already dead or has little involvement in the story.

In the PC games Dracula: Resurrection and Dracula: The Last Sanctuary, which take place after the film Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Keanu Reeves’ image was used as the basis for Jonathan Harker in the games.

• In the Frank Wildhorn musical Dracula, the Musical, Jonathan was played by Darren Ritchie in the 2004 Broadway production. In the St. Gallen, Switzerland, and Graz, Austria, productions, Jonathan was played by Jesper Tydén, a Swedish musical theater actor.
• In 2006, in the Franco-Canadian musical Dracula – Entre l’amour et la mort, Jonathan was played by Sylvain Cossette.
• In 2011, in the French musical Dracula – L’amour plus fort que la mort, Jonathan was played by Julien Loko.
• In 2019, in the Northern Ballet production of Dracula by David Nixon, Jonathan was portrayed by Lorenzo Trossello. The production was shown in UK cinemas on Halloween and later broadcast on BBC4 in 2020.