Kit Harington opened up a few days ago about the effect Game of Thrones had on his mental health and revealed he had to take a year off from acting after the HBO series ended. In a recent interview with SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show, Harington said the “nature” of the violent, intense, and emotional series “directly” led to his mental health issues in real life.
“I went through some mental health difficulties after Thrones, and during the end of Thrones, to be honest,” Harington told Cagle. “I think it was directly due to the nature of the show and what I had been doing for years.”
Kit Harington starred as Jon Snow. A supporting character in the popular HBO show that turned into a pop-culture icon in a series that ran for eight seasons. Games of Thrones would eventually end in a controversial series finale.
Harington, now 34 years old, said he decided to take a break after working on Game of Thrones to “really concentrate on myself,” and added, “I’m really happy I did that.” In May of 2019, it was reported that Harington checked into a mental health and wellness facility for “some personal issues.” Game of Thrones also ended the same month.
“Just when I was wanting to come back to work the pandemic hit,” he said of moving forward from his breakdown. The Game of Thrones star recently filmed a Modern Love season two episode, which hit Amazon Prime on Friday. He said it was just for the sake of fun.
“You don’t have to live in that intense place all the time,” Harington said. “Why don’t you do something that takes the weight off? Why don’t you do something fun?”
Hopefully, Harington’s next involvement in a major film franchise will be more fun and won’t take a toll on his mental wellness. He is set to star as Black Knight — a Marvel Comics superhero that will make his first cinematic appearance in Marvel’s Eternals, due in theaters November 5th, 2021.
Marvel’s Eternals also stars Angelina Jolie, Gemma Chan, Salma Hayek, Kumail Nanjiani, Ma Don-seok, Barry Keoghan, Lia McHugh, Lauren Ridloff, and Brian Tryree Henry. Harington will be joining Richard Madden, who played Robb Stark in Game of Thrones. Robb Stark and Jon Snow were believed to be brothers in the series until Jon Snow’s lineage was revealed later on in the series.
