Actor Kit Harington has said he is “so grateful” he got sober before having a baby with his Game Of Thrones co-star.
Harington, best known for playing Jon Snow in HBO’s sprawling fantasy series, overcame problems with alcohol and depression following the end of Game Of Thrones.
Last year, the 35-year-old became a parent for the first time when his wife, actress Rose Leslie, who played Ygritte in the show, gave birth to a son.
Harington told the Guardian that becoming sober “saved” him.
Talking about addiction, he said: “This is a very addictive job.
“In a week’s time, I’m going to go out, stand on stage and get applause and it’s going to be a huge rush and a high.
“The trouble is, I never really wanted to come down from that high.
“Now, I’ve learned how I do that and I’m much happier for it… So I’m well on my path to recovery, and all I can say to anyone thinking about it is it’s a wonderful way of living your life.
“It saved me, for sure.
“I feel like a much more grounded, settled person. I’m so grateful that I got sober before having a child.”
London-born Harington and Scottish actress Leslie met while starring together in the TV series and the couple tied the knot in 2018 at her ancestral castle in Aberdeenshire.
Talking about his son turning one, Harington said: “You know, I’ve noticed that my little boy loves applause.
“He’s the son of two actors so he’s going to, isn’t he?
“But everything he does, he wants applause. It’s making me and Rose terrified.
“I think I was a show-off and I liked getting celebrated by my mother. I like attention.”
🚨 Due to Covid-19 related absences within the company, unfortunately preview performances of Henry V on Tuesday 15 February and Wednesday 16 February have been cancelled pic.twitter.com/2MAMv3nuGV
— Donmar Warehouse (@DonmarWarehouse) February 14, 2022
The actor added that there is a part of him that is “always trying to get away” from the Game Of Thrones comparison.
Talking about his experience during the end of the popular series, he added: “I wasn’t very well through a portion of it towards the end, so I could say that an element of me didn’t survive it.
“But I think that would have happened were I in that show or not.
“I look at it with great fondness. I feel very privileged to have been in it and I’m continuing to get to be in the theatre, in large part, because of that show.
“There’s a baby boy downstairs, and my wife, who I met on the show.
“I looked at it from a perspective of tortuousness and anxiousness a lot when I was in it.
“I’ve got no reason to be doing that now.”
Harington is next playing Henry V at the Donmar Warehouse – directed by Donmar associate director Max Webster – from February to April.