Kit Harington Says Game Of Thrones Death Storyline Pushed Him To Seek Therapy

Kit Harington has opened up about his struggles dealing with fame after his Game of Thrones' character was killed off and then brought back from the dead.

Kit, who plays Jon Snow on the smash-hit HBO show, told Variety that when he became the focus of a cliffhanger - after he was killed off at the end of season five but then spotted during filming in Belfast - the amount of attention he got was 'fucking terrifying'.

He said: "When you become the cliffhanger of a TV show, and a TV show probably at the height of its power, the focus on you is fucking terrifying.

"You get people shouting at you on the street, 'Are you dead?' At the same time, you have to have this appearance. All of your neuroses - and I'm as neurotic as any actor - get heightened with that level of focus."

He also revealed that during that 'is he or isn't he dead?' time he hit his 'darkest period'. Adding that he 'didn't like the focus of the whole show coming onto Jon'.

And it was all this intense pressure and scrutiny that made the star realise he needed to speak to someone.

He told the news outlet: "It wasn't a very good time in my life. I felt I had to feel that I was the most fortunate person in the world, when actually, I felt very vulnerable. I had a shaky time in my life around there - like I think a lot of people do in their 20s.

"That was a time when I started therapy and started talking to people. I had felt very unsafe, and I wasn't talking to anyone. I had to feel very grateful for what I have, but I felt incredibly concerned about whether I could even fucking act."

Kit will be back on screens for the eighth and final season in April. Although plot details are kept very strictly under wraps, one teaser trailer has had fans running away with their own theories and ideas.

In the trailer Jon, Arya and Sansa Stark are in a crypt filled with statues representing the dead members of the Stark family, before they come face-to-face with statues of themselves - but it looks as though Jon's is older than the others, prompting people to speculate about their possible deaths and what it all means.

At least we don't have too long to wait, season eight will arrive on 14 April.

Topics: Entertainment, TV and Film, Kit Harington, Game of Thrones

Claire Reid

Claire is a journalist at LADbible who, after dossing around for a few years, went to Liverpool John Moores University. She graduated with a degree in Journalism and a whole load of debt. When not writing words in exchange for money she is usually at home watching serial killer documentaries surrounded by cats. You can contact Claire at [email protected]

@ClaireReid19