Kit Harington has revealed that he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) while in rehab.
The Game of Thrones actor, 37, received treatment for alcoholism and depression in 2019 after completing filming on the long-running American fantasy series.
In the past, the Gunpowder actor has also been public about his experiences of living with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and repetitive behaviours.
Harington played fan-favourite character Jon Snow on Game of Thrones but has admitted he was ‘terrified about everything’ while trying to ‘project an image of utter sophistication and coolness’ about his work.
‘[I was] trying to project this image of utter sophistication and coolness about what I was doing but genuinely being sort of terrified about everything.’
Harington, who married his Game of Thrones co-star Rose Leslie in 2018, says that he struggled with different neuroses as a child and that he sometimes entered low moods that affected those around him.
‘[My parents called me] the Prince of Darkness. It never really went away after my teenage years. Now I’ve done a bit of work on myself [it happens less often]. But when it happens I can bring the whole room down.
The Eternals star then revealed to the Times that becoming a parent himself was part of his realisation that his OCD diagnosis might not describe everything about his place on the neurodivergent spectrum.
‘My head wants to go to every other thing in the room at once,’ he says, recounting an anecdote from when he was playing with his son while the two were pretending a stick was a dragon.
‘I move it on, because I’m restless. I’m like… “We’ve done the dragon stick thing,” whereas he’s quite content for hours. The way my brain works is we need to get to whatever the next thing is.’
Speaking candidly about his time in rehab, he said he first entered a clinic in 2015 while drunk and then left as soon as he sobered up – but when he went back in 2019, he took it far more seriously instead of trying to deal with things on his own.
‘I realised that my life was hinging on this. Luckily it was the right place at the right time. I managed to forge a new life from there.’
In 2022, Harington admitted that sobering up ‘saved’ him before reiterating that he was ‘well on the path to recovery’.
He told The Guardian: ‘All I can say to anyone thinking about [quitting drinking] 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.’
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