Kit Harington is opening up about his mental health struggles following the end of Game of Thrones.
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In a new interview, Harington addressed the infamous Final Season of Game of Thrones, which aired in late spring of 2019. It’s since been revealed that Harington was struggling with some serious issues as he approached the end of his time playing Jon Snow (aka Aegon Targaryen) in the series; those issues included alcoholism, ADHD, and deep anxiety about GoT ending and what the future held. The severity was enough to make Harington seriously worry about his well-being and check himself into a rehab facility.
“I realized that my life was hinging on this,” Harington told Hidden 20% podcast host Ben Branson about his battles. “Luckily, it was the right place at the right time. I managed to forge a new life from there.”
He once told Variety that it was when Game of Thrones shifted focus to Jon Snow (following the character’s “death” and resurrection between Seasons 5-6) that really pushed him into a bad headspace. By his own account, Harington wasn’t ready for the level of fame and interest that came with the cliffhanger of Jon’s death:
“My darkest period was when the show seemed to become so much about Jon when he died and came back,” Harington said. “I didn’t like the focus of the whole show coming onto Jon. When you become the cliffhanger of a TV show and a TV show probably at the height of its power, the focus on you is f—–g terrifying.”
Kit Harington did indeed forge a whole new life for himself after wrapping Game of Thrones and sorting out his issues immediately after the show ended. Harington had met and started a relationship with his Game of Thrones co-star Rose Leslie (Ygritte) in 2011; the couple got engaged in 2017 and married a year later in 2018. They welcomed their first child, a son, who has been kept out of the public eye but was first seen publicly in 2021. Harington and Leslie have also just welcomed a second child, a girl, whose birth was confirmed by the couple in July of last year.
Since becoming a husband and father, Kit Harington has slowed down in his public career as an actor. The biggest franchise role he’s taken on since Game of Thrones is that of Dane Whitman in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Whitman was a major supporting character in Marvel’s Eternals movie, while (SPOILERS) a post-credits scene set Dane up for his heroic transformation into Marvel’s Black Knight, and allied him with none other than Mahershala Ali’s Blade (whose movie is in development).
There were reports that Harington could return to Game of Thrones for a sequel series that followed Jon Snow. However, in November of last year, HBO’s CEO shot down that idea, confirming that only one new spinoff series (besides House of the Dragon) is in the works:
“We greenlit [A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight] in the spring,” HBO CEO and chairman Casey Bloys stated (via TVLine). “I wouldn’t say there is anything else in that world that is close to a green light or anything, but we are always working on different scripts and ideas.”
Game of Thrones and its prequel House of the Dragon aer streaming on Max.
