Kit Harington has revealed he was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) while trying to get sober in rehab.
The actor was admitted to an American clinic in 2019 while struggling with alcohol dependency problems and had been attempting to get clean for four years.
The 37-year-old, best known for turns in Game of Thrones on television and films such as Spooks: The Greater Good, said he had suffered mood swings that had affected his teenage years.
This week he opened up about his struggles on the Hidden 20% podcast with Ben Branson - where he revealed the ADHD diagnosis as well as his success in staying sober.
Harington said: “I realised that my life was hanging on this. Luckily it was the right place at the right time. I managed to forge a new life from there.”
The actor has recently welcomed a second child with wife and Games of Thrones co-star Rose Leslie and announced a spin off involving his character Jon Snow while he has also been involved with BBC / HBO drama Industry.
He told Branson that as a teenager his low moods led his family to dub him the “prince of darkness” and that he was “wrapped up in a whole load of neuroses”.
“When it happens I can... bring the whole room down. And a little part of me likes it that I'm having this effect,” he said.
“So I have to be very aware that it's happening and remove myself from the situation.”
He added that he has been moving forward with his life now that he has become more aware of the implications of his disorder. He said that taking a shower can reset his brain.
“The practicality of getting down to my work at the moment [I am] finding it quite tricky,” he said. “I don’t multitask well. If there’s more than one thing going on in my head I get overwhelmed. I get incredibly fretty, anxious.
“My head’s all over the shop. I can’t deal with it. I go into a sort of freeze mode, at which point Rose says to go and take a shower. And I go, ‘OK,’ because it’s like my brain short-circuits.”
