"Game of Thrones" star Kit Harington said the fame he achieved from the hit HBO series affected his mental health and triggered his struggles with alcoholism.
Appearing on the wellness podcast "Hidden 20%," the actor who memorably portrayed Jon Snow from 2011 until 2019 in "Game of Thrones" said he entered rehab in 2019 for alcoholism. It was while there that he was diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
"I realized that my life was hinging on this," Harington said, according to Deadline. "Luckily, it was the right place at the right time. I managed to forge a new life from there."
Harington admitted that he "entered rehab drunk, sobered up in there, and went, '[expletive] this, not you guys in a circle. No, thank you.'"
It was only after a second stint that he was made aware of his ADHD.
"And I left that pretty quick and said, 'I'll try to deal with this by myself,' which didn't work after about four years," Harington said.
Now he said he is "sober and present" and focused on his son, 2, and daughter, 6 months, whom he shares with "Game of Thrones" co-star and wife, Rose Leslie.
Harington has been open about his mental health struggles, previously revealing that he had to take time out amid the height of his fame.
"I went through, kind of, some mental health difficulties after 'Thrones' and during the end of 'Thrones,' to be honest. And I think it was directly to do with the nature of the show and what I've been doing for years," Harington said during an appearance on SiriusXM's "The Jess Cagle Show" in 2021.
"I think I took, sort of, a break after 'Thrones' where, so, I don't want to work for a year [and] I want to really kind of concentrate on myself. I think I'm really happy I did that."
Harington took a year off from working and entered treatment to "work on some personal issues" shortly after the HBO series finale aired, a representative previously told People.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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