EntertainmentHow ‘Game of Thrones’ intensified Kit Harington’s alcoholismActor admitted in an interview that he simply couldn’t dissociate himself from his own character, the heroic Jon Snowtoday at 11:33

Before game of Thrones, KitHarington I had done little professional work. To give you an idea: the series that made him world famous debuted in 2011, while his acting debut had occurred just two years earlier, as the protagonist Albert Narracott in the play War Horsefrom the English theater West End.

Thus, when he began to bring Jon Snow to life in the plot written by George R. R. Martin, everything was very new. And it left a profound impact on his personal life.

In an interview with Ben Branson for the podcast The Hidden 20% (via The Times), Harington reflected on his late diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). According to him, the health problem was “controlled” with alcohol, which led to dependence.

Interestingly, according to Kit, his involvement with drinking started because he didn’t know how to separate the actor from the character. And it’s not about Jon Snow being an alcoholic in the plot, as that wasn’t the case. The problem was that people treated the artist as if he were a pure and kind hero, just like the guy he played on camera.

People treated me like the character, who was a kind hero, but in my life, personally, I didn’t feel that way. And I think that led to some kind of psychological scarring. I was drinking a lot. I was going through addiction and everything that entails, like hiding what I was going through and everything. It was the opposite of the character I was playing, who didn’t know how to lie.

Still according to Harington, you could feel people’s disappointment as soon as they realized that, obviously, he wasn’t really Jon Snow. In his words:

The disappointment was evident the minute I started talking.

Rock bottom for Kit Harington

Still during the interview, KitHarington He described the moment he felt like he was at rock bottom. Between 2018 and 2019, he suffered something of a collapse when game of Thrones completed filming. The star moved on to another job, in the play True Westin Sam Shepard — during which he played an alcoholic.

At that point, the character (Jon Snow) and I were very mixed. I didn’t know who I really was. And then I started drinking continuously while playing an alcoholic (in the play). It was the worst. It was during that play that I kind of had a breakdown, so I told the people around me what was happening and finally took action.

There were two attempts to enter a rehabilitation program. The first one didn’t work.

I went into rehab drunk, I got sober there, but I dropped out pretty quickly. I decided to try to deal with it myself, but it didn’t work after about four years.

The second, thankfully, was a success. And it was precisely when he ended up diagnosed with ADHD, which better directed his treatment.

I realized my life depended on it. Luckily it was the right place at the right time. I managed to build a new life from there.

It is speculated that Kit will return to play Jon Snow in a spin-off series. That the problems of the times game of Thrones do not repeat themselves to the actor.