Kit Harington “Went Through Periods Of Real Depression” When Game Of Thrones Ended

Kit Harington was suicidal after Game of Thrones ended.

The 34-year-old actor — who checked into rehab for alcohol abuse in 2019 — insisted he isn’t “special” but hopes opening up about how bad things got for him will be able to help someone.

Asked by The Times if he ever felt suicidal when he reached rock bottom, he said: “I will give you an answer to that question: the answer is yes. Yes, of course. I went through periods of real depression where I wanted to do all sorts of things.

“[I hope this can] 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 Modern Love actor went through a “horrible” time and felt like a “horrible person” but thinks sobriety helped him accept he was able to change.

He said: “I went through some pretty horrible stuff.

“Things that have happened to me since Thrones ended, and that were happening during Thrones, were of a pretty traumatic nature and they did include 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. And getting sober is the process of going, ‘No, I can change.’

“One of my favourite 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.

“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.”

Kit also admitted his problems put his marriage to former Game of Thrones co-star Rose Leslie — with whom he has a six-month-old son — under strain.

“You can imagine the stresses that it causes to those around you," he said. “I will say about my addictions that I kept them very, very quiet and I was incredibly secretive and incredibly locked up with them. So they came as quite a surprise to the people around me. Which is quite often the case, I guess.”

Kit has also been tackling his obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) because it became very debilitating.

He said: “There was something with three drains where I had to stand on the middle drain with my right foot. It got to the point where I had to cross the road to stand on one. If I missed one, I had to walk back. I had to cut them loose. They became part of a few problems I had to get rid of.”

If you or someone you know is having difficulties coping, here are some numbers to call:

Samaritans of Singapore: 1800-221-4444

Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019

CHAT @ *SCAPE: (+65) 6493 6500, (+65) 6493 6501

SAF Counselling Hotline: 1800-278-0022

— BANG SHOWBIZ