Viewers who’ve been taking in the 2024 TV schedule marked the end of House of the Dragon Season 2, which ignited some very familiar memories of pop culture’s recent past. As some have seriously panned what they’ve seen, it feels like the ghosts of Game of Thrones’ divisive series finale are haunting us yet again. And, in his own way, star Kit Harington has exorcised those demons in a recent interview. It was during that chat that Harington talked about how quickly the perception of the HBO series had changed during his time in rehab.
The Jon Snow actor and HBO fixture recently spoke with GQ to promote his role on the new season of the hit series Industry. But, of course, it was probably inevitable that the actor would be asked about his culturally relevant former TV show, which is an adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s epic A Song of Ice and Fire storyline. More specifically, as for how the public perception of the show changed amid his stint in rehab, Kit Harington had the following to say:
I went in and everyone loved Thrones; I came out and everyone hated it. I thought, ‘What the fuck is going on?!’
With all due respect to the man’s sobriety efforts, that’s something akin to Captain America being unfrozen in the modern day and seeing all the changes. For the British actor it must have felt like one moment everyone’s talking about the brilliance of “A Knight of Seven Kingdoms,” and then the next everyone’s taking down the final chapter and its wild decisions.
Kit Harington’s 2019 rehab visit was reported back when it had happened, but what’s interesting to note is the fact that it seems that the Game of Thrones finale wasn’t the cause, as previously speculated. Rather, Harington was working on his own personal wellness journey connected to addiction, and his stay at a Connecticut-based facility happened smack dab in the middle of the madness that surrounded Season 8’s series ender.
That note makes Mr. Harington’s continued remarks about completing rehab simultaneously more upsetting and uplifting. Further taking pride in his efforts, the Eternals cast member shared these recollections:
The very fact that I can be proud of it is an achievement. Because before getting sober, I would stare in the mirror and call myself a cunt. I’d hate myself. I would literally despise myself and not be proud of anything I’d done. I couldn’t be proud. So the fact that I am proud of getting sober is in and of itself a mark of being an entirely different person. And now, every set I step onto, whatever work I do, I’m proud of, because I know I put everything into it. Whereas before I had this huge monkey on my back that was just, like, weighing me down. So yeah, the whole nature of being proud of myself is a relatively new prospect for me.
No matter where anyone stands on the ending of Game of Thrones, that’s not a reflection on the Beast Within star. What does show his character is his openness to discuss his rehab journey, especially in a setting as “vaguely inappropriate” as the pub that he chose for the interview at hand.
His pride is well earned, and his spot on the list of similarly proud celebrity teetotalers could certainly be an inspiration for anyone else who may be looking to face that matter personally. He may not be Jon Snow, but Kit Harington is most certainly a hero to be able to do that.
If all of this talk about the entire Game of Thrones universe has you looking to return to the Seven Kingdoms yet again, all you need is a Max subscription to do just that. As past, present, and future are all going to be heading to that very stream, it’s a journey that’s at your reach. However, don’t forget to check out Kit Harington’s role in Industry Season 3, as it unfolds every Sunday at 9 PM EST on both HBO and Max.