The 24th season of the award-winning interview series, Variety’s Actors on Actors, has brought together old co-stars from one of the most iconic shows in the history of television, Game of Thrones. Kit Harington and Peter Dinklage discussed a lot of things from the HBO phenomenon and things after that. During their conversation, Harington opened up about a dark phase of his life that started just after the show’s conclusion.

The episode that dropped on June 5, featuring both Game of Thrones stars, had a candid moment when Peter Dinklage asked Kit Harington about what he did when the show ended.

“I needed to get sober. I needed to get my head on straight,” said Harington.    

At the time when the final season of the show was released, there were headlines that stated that the British actor checked himself into a treatment center due to "stress and exhaustion, and also alcohol." And he has never tried to hide the fact. Instead, he has been candid about the toll that fame took on him and the reasons he had to make a significant life change in order to deal with it.

“I decided to go to rehab as Episode 1 [of the eighth and final season] was airing, and I was there for six weeks. I needed to get sober. I needed to get my head on straight,” Harington told Dinklage.

Harington's recovery treatment coincided with a turning point in his career. The show that made him famous and brought him two Emmy Award nominations was coming to an end, and the public was more critical than ever. At that moment, Harington made another significant choice in addition to entering rehab. He decided not to watch the last season at all.

However, it seems like he was not the only one with a terrible experience from the show.

Several other stars from the show had a similar experience

A number of Game of Thrones cast members have talked about the bad things that have happened to them. They had to deal with toxic fans and being in the media all the time. For example, Sophie Turner experienced disordered eating due to being in the spotlight at a young age. She has advocated for mental health awareness on many occasions.

Dinklage admitted in the Variety interview that many of the Game of Thrones characters had just pain and nothing else. To this, Harington countered that at least Tyrion had his humor to mask his pain. Kit Harington’s revelation might not be something new, but it once again reminds everyone that sometimes there is a certain price one has to pay for fame.

Did you know about Kit Harington’s rehab experience? Do let us know.

Written by

Harshit Kumar

Edited by

Hriddhi Maitra