The Dark Side of Fame: Kit Harington Reveals His Struggle With Addiction After ‘Game of Thrones’

Kit Harington has opened up about a difficult period in his life that came shortly after Game of Thrones came to an end. The actor, who played Jon Snow throughout all eight seasons of the hit HBO series, recently spoke about his struggle with addiction and his decision to enter rehab in 2019.

During a conversation with his former Game of Thrones co-star Peter Dinklage for Variety’s Actors on Actors series, Harington shared details about the time he spent in treatment after the show’s final season began airing. According to the actor, entering rehab was the first thing he did as audiences started watching the final episodes.

“The first thing I did while the show was airing was go to rehab,” Harington said. “That was my first port of call. It was a very weird experience, Peter. Like, I decided to go to rehab as episode one was airing. And I was there for six weeks, isolated, without my phone.”

The actor explained that he knew he needed to make a serious change in his life. He said the time away helped him focus on his recovery and gave him the chance to deal with personal issues away from the spotlight.

“I needed to go get sober,” Harington said. “I needed to get my head on straight.”

Many people assumed his rehab stay was planned around the release of Game of Thrones’ final season, but Harington said that was not the case. In fact, he admitted that one reason he considered delaying treatment was because of the large amount of promotion expected from the cast.

“Actually, that was a big pull to not go to rehab was like, ‘Well, wait a minute, there’s loads of press that needs to be done, you need to be front and center,’” he explained. “And it was a good decision to go, ‘Do you know what? Actually, I’m checking out. I can’t do this.’”

As a result, Harington missed much of the publicity surrounding the final season. Looking back now, he believes stepping away was the right decision. He admitted that avoiding the press tour was a relief and allowed him to focus entirely on himself.

After completing treatment, Harington took a break from acting. He planned to spend about a year away from work to focus on his personal life and recovery. However, those plans were affected when the COVID-19 pandemic began just as he was preparing to return to acting.

The actor described the period after Game of Thrones as unusual and uncertain. Still, he believes the extra time away from the industry ended up helping him.

“Looking back, it’s been really very good for me,” Harington said. “Because it allowed me the time post that show finishing to figure out in some ways not to be too wanky, but like who I was. And whether I really wanted to do this anymore.”

Harington also reflected on how deeply his role as Jon Snow affected him. He said that during much of his time on the series, he drew heavily from personal pain while performing. Since the show ended, he has learned the importance of finding both happiness and pain in his work rather than relying only on difficult emotions.

According to Harington, discovering that balance has been one of the most valuable lessons of his life after Game of Thrones. While the years following the show’s ending were challenging, he now sees that period as an important step in his recovery and personal growth.

The actor, who is married to fellow Game of Thrones star Rose Leslie and is now a father of two, continues to work in the entertainment industry while remaining open about the struggles he faced during one of the most important transitions of his career.

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