'Game of Thrones' Star Kit Harington Discusses Addiction Struggles After End of Series

In its heyday, Game of Throneswas easily seen as one of the most popular TV series of its era, roping in millions of weekly viewers every time a new season aired on HBO.

With its massive critical popularity among fans, it's understandable that some of the show's foremost cast dealt with their own varying degrees of personal pressure and turmoil behind the scenes.

In the case of Game of Thrones' de facto main star, Kit Harington, said pressure led to struggles with addiction that eventually came to a head with the debut of the show's final season.

"I decided to go to rehab as Episode 1 [of the eighth and final season] was airing, and I was there for six weeks," the 39-year-old actor admitted in a recent interview with Variety. "I needed to get sober. I needed to get my head on straight."

At the time, Harington admitted to feeling a bit reluctant to sign himself into her rehab, especially given all the publicity surrounding Game of Thrones' final season. But in the end, the actor admitted the decision was ultimately the right call for his personal well-being.

"I was like, 'Wait a minute, there's loads of press that needs to be done. You need to be front and center,'" Harington said. "But it was a good decision to go, 'Actually, I'm checking out. I can't do this.'"

"So I didn't see the last season," Harington continued. "And then I decided to take a year off work to get sorted. Right as I'm going to reengage with work, COVID hit. So it was this very strange period after the show ended. Massive society sledgehammers or personal sledgehammers. But it allowed me to figure out - not to be too wanky - who I was. And whether I really wanted to do this anymore, talking bluntly. I spent a lot of Game of Thrones working from a place of pain. It was the character as well, I think.

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This story was originally published June 5, 2026 at 7:21 AM.