Kit Harington has opened up about his battle with alcohol and depression.
The actor, who played legendary character John Snow on the hit show Game of Thrones for eight years, admitted he’s “so grateful” he got sober before the birth of his son – whom he shares with his wife Rose Leslie.
Speaking to The Guardian, the 35-year-old said: “This is a very addictive job. In a week’s time, I’m going to go out, stand on stage and get applause and it’s going to be a huge rush and a high. The trouble is, I never really wanted to come down from that high.”
“Now, I’ve learned how I do that and I’m much happier for it… So I’m well on my path to recovery, and all I can say to anyone thinking about it is it’s a wonderful way of living your life.”
“It saved me, for sure. I feel like a much more grounded, settled person. I’m so grateful that I got sober before having a child,” he added.
The actor also spoke about how a part of him is “always trying to get away” from Game of Thrones, explaining: “I wasn’t very well through a portion of it towards the end, so I could say that an element of me didn’t survive it. But I think that would have happened were I in that show or not.”
“I look at it with great fondness. I feel very privileged to have been in it and I’m continuing to get to be in the theatre, in large part, because of that show.”
“There’s a baby boy downstairs, and my wife, who I met on the show. I looked at it from a perspective of tortuousness and anxiousness a lot when I was in it. I’ve got no reason to be doing that now,” he said.
Kit met his wife Rose on the set of Game of Thrones and the pair tied the knot on June 23 2018 after five years of dating. The pair welcomed their first child, a baby boy in February 2021.
