Game of Thrones: Kit Harington ‘grateful’ he got sober before having a child with Scottish actress

Kit Harington has said he is “so grateful” he got sober before having a baby with his Game Of Thrones co-star Rose Leslie.

The couple, who own a flat in Edinburgh, became parents for the first time last year when Leslie, who played Ygritte in the show, gave birth to a son.

Harington, who played Jon Snow in HBO’s sprawling fantasy series, overcame problems with alcohol and depression following the end of Game Of Thrones.

And now the 35-year-old has said that becoming sober “saved” him.

Actor Kit Harington has said he is “so grateful” he got sober before having a baby with his Game Of Thrones co-star, Scottish actress Rose Leslie.

Talking about addiction, Harrington, whose next role sees him playing Henry V at the Donmar Warehouse, said: “This is a very addictive job.

“In a week’s time, I’m going to go out, stand on stage and get applause and it’s going to be a huge rush and a high.

“The trouble is, I never really wanted to come down from that high.

“Now, I’ve learned how I do that and I’m much happier for it… So I’m well on my path to recovery, and all I can say to anyone thinking about it is it’s a wonderful way of living your life.

“It saved me, for sure.

“I feel like a much more grounded, settled person. I’m so grateful that I got sober before having a child.”

London-born Harington and Aberdeen-born Leslie met while starring together in the TV series and the couple tied the knot in 2018 at her ancestral castle in Aberdeenshire.

Six months after they tied the knot, the couple bought a £600,000 Edinburgh property.

Title deeds revealed the two-bedroom tenement home is near the city centre also has a box room, sitting room, drawing room, kitchen and two bathrooms.

At the time of the purchase, a source said: “It’s in a beautiful location in a historic part of the city. It’s a compliment to the pulling power of the city that they are buying a place there.”

Now, talking about his son turning one, Harington said: “You know, I’ve noticed that my little boy loves applause.

“He’s the son of two actors so he’s going to, isn’t he?

“But everything he does, he wants applause. It’s making me and Rose terrified.

“I think I was a show-off and I liked getting celebrated by my mother. I like attention.”

The actor added that there is a part of him that is “always trying to get away” from the Game Of Thrones comparison.

Talking about his experience during the end of the popular series, he added: “I wasn’t very well through a portion of it towards the end, so I could say that an element of me didn’t survive it.

“But I think that would have happened were I in that show or not.

“I look at it with great fondness. I feel very privileged to have been in it and I’m continuing to get to be in the theatre, in large part, because of that show.

“There’s a baby boy downstairs, and my wife, who I met on the show.

“I looked at it from a perspective of tortuousness and anxiousness a lot when I was in it.

“I’ve got no reason to be doing that now.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.