Kit Harington opens up about getting sober, facing suicidal thoughts
Kit Harington is opening up about getting sober and the tough times he faced after "Game of Thrones" ended in 2019.
In a recent interview with The Sunday Times, the 34-year-old actor reflected on what led to his path to sobriety, how he hopes speaking out on some of his past struggles can help others.
"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," he told the outlet.
"You get to a place where you feel like you are a bad person, you feel like you are a shameful person," the actor continued. "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.'"
The 'GoT' alum added: "One of my favorite 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."
Harington, who recently welcomed his first child -- a baby boy -- with wife Rose Leslie, also got candid about suffering from depression and whether he faced suicidal thoughts.
"I will give you an answer to that question: the answer is yes. Yes of course," he shared when asked if he had experienced suicidal thoughts. "I went through periods of real depression where I wanted to do all sorts of things …"
However, he expressed that in admitting these struggles publicly, he does not "want to be seen as a martyr or special."
"Maybe [speaking about this will] help someone, somewhere ... I’ve been through something, it’s my stuff. If it helps someone, that’s good," he said.
The actor also spoke about how he and Leslie are embracing parenthood and how he found the first months to be extremely challenging.
"Like, honestly, my back is wrecked. I go to the gym quite a bit, but there’s something about having a child that is the most physically draining thing," he said.
"My hat goes off to any single parent," he added. "Any single parent, you’re a f------ genius. I don’t know how you do it. Because it’s more exhausting than everything I did on 'Thrones'."
He advised anyone about to become a parent to "have a moment to say goodbye to your old life."
If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide or worried about a friend or loved one, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 [TALK] for free, confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can also reach the Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 or the Crisis Text Line by texting "START" to 741741.
