Kit Harington Says Jon Snow's Game of Thrones Death Sent Him to Therapy

Paul Schrodt

March 20, 2019 2:13 PM

It can be easy to keep a distance from the brutal violence on Game of Thrones as a viewer, acknowledgment as so much fantastical entertainment. That isn't necessarily the case for the actors working on the HBO series, and the repercussions can get very real.

'Game of Thrones' Made Kit Harington Start Therapy

Kit Harington has revealed to Variety that he actually sought therapy in his personal life around the time that his character Jon Snow was stabbed to death on the show, saying he felt "unsafe" out in the world. (Snow would be famously resurrected in the next season, and even immediately after his death was shown, perceptive viewers suspected the plot twist.)

'Game of Thrones' BusinessInsider USA Images

After the airing of that critical moment, Harington felt exposed amid so much public scrutiny.

"It wasnt a very good time in my life, Harington told Variety . I felt I had to feel that I was the most fortunate person in the world when actually, I felt very vulnerable.

Harington recalls having to keep up an appearance while people shouted Are you dead? at him on the street.

I had a shaky time in my life around therelike I think a lot of people do in their twenties, the Thrones star added. That was a time when I started therapy and started talking to people. I had felt very unsafe and I wasnt 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.

Luckily, he seems to be in a much better place now, having wrapped up his work for the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones premiering on HBO April 14.

Paul Schrodt