Kit Harington opens up about addiction and depression at height of Game of Thrones fame

Last updated: August 9, 2021 7:16 AM

Miu von Furstenberg 3 Min Read

Kit Harington is shedding some light on his years-long battle with alcohol and depression.

In a recent interview with The Sunday Times, the 34-year-old actor opened up about his mental health struggles during and after his days on Game of Thrones. He revealed he had experienced some “pretty traumatic” events during that timeframe, and many of those incidents involved alcohol.

“You get to a place where you feel like you are a bad person, you feel like you are a shameful person. And you feel that there’s no way out, that’s just who you are,” he explained. “And getting sober is the process of going, ‘No, I can change.’ One of my favorite things I learnt recently is that the expression ‘a leopard doesn’t change its spots’ is completely false: that a leopard actually does change its spots.”

Kit Harington Jameson Empire Awards 2015 — Kit Harington attends the Jameson Empire Awards 2015 at Grosvenor House, on March 29, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images for Jameson)

He continued: “I just think that’s the most beautiful thing. It really helped. That was something I kind of clung to; the idea that I could make this huge fundamental change in who I was and how I went about my life.”

Harington also spoke on his mental health struggles, and how his depression became so severe he had contemplated suicide.

Kit Harington 20th Annual AFI Awards - Arrivals — Actor Kit Harington attends the 20th Annual AFI Awards at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on January 03, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for AFI)

“I went through periods of real depression where I wanted to do all sorts of things,” he said. “Maybe [speaking about this will] help someone, somewhere. But I definitely don’t want to be seen as a martyr or special. I’ve been through something, it’s my stuff. If it helps someone, that’s good.”

The actor, who will appear in Modern Love Season 2, confirmed he has been sober for more than two years and is in a much better place. He’s also come to terms with the fact he’ll always be associated with Jon Snow, the GoT character he portrayed throughout the series.

Kit Harington Giffoni Film Festival 2017 - Day 6 — Kit Harington attends Giffoni Film Festival 2017 on July 19, 2017 in Giffoni Valle Piana, Italy. (Photo by Getty Images)

“[Life is] wonderful,” he said. “I have a child and my relationship is brilliant. I’m a very, very happy, content, sober man.”

You can read the full interview here.

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