Kit Harington reveals he has been diagnosed with ADHD
Game of Thrones star Kit Harington revealed on The Hidden 20% podcast that he was diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) in 2019 while he was in rehab for alcohol addiction.
“I realized that my life depended on this. Luckily, I was in the right place at the right time. After that, I was able to start a new life,” the actor shared.
According to Harington, the symptoms of his illness are expressed in the fact that his mind constantly demands to do something new, which adds to the difficulties in work: “I find it quite difficult to concentrate on work, I have problems with multitasking. When there is a lot going on in my head at once, I become overwhelmed and become incredibly irritable and anxious. I can’t get my thoughts together and it’s very difficult.”
Recalling his youth, the actor said that he had a whole set of neuroses, and his parents even called him “the prince of darkness” due to the fact that he was often in a depressed mood. Contrary to their expectations, the reason was not puberty, because when Keith stopped being a teenager, nothing changed. Only after realizing his problem did Harington learn to cope with it. “When this happens, I can pull everyone in the room with me, and part of me even likes that I have such an effect. I have to keep an eye on it to avoid situations like this,” Keith admitted.
Harington also said his mental health deteriorated during the filming of Game of Thrones because fans perceived him not as an individual, but as his character Jon Snow: “People treated me the way they treated him. But in life I’m not like that at all, it caused me psychological wounds.”
However, now the actor, in his own words, feels good. He is sober and busy raising his children with actress Rose Leslie, who played Jon Snow's first lover in Game of Thrones.