Kit Harington Reveals His Darkest Period of Playing Jon Snow

Kit Harington has played Jon Snow on Game of Thrones since he was 24 years old, and since, he has evolved just as much as his character throughout the seasons, as they grew up together. Not every scene was easy for Harington, though, and he admits there were some upsetting times during filming as well.

In an interview with Variety, Harington revealed his toughest time in playing Jon Snow on Thrones was when his character died on a cliffhanger, and came back to life.

“My darkest period was when the show seemed to become so much about Jon, when he died and came back,” Harington revealed. “I really didn’t like the focus of the whole show coming onto Jon — even though it was invalidating my problem about being the weak link because things were about Jon.”

During this time Harington had been on the show for five years and fan interaction and popularity was nothing new, but during that part of the show it became too much for him.

“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 f—ing terrifying,” Harington explained.

Even though Jon was dead in the show, Harington was still spotted on set and still sporting his iconic Thrones hairstyle, so of course fans started to notice and question if he was truly gone.

“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," Harington continued.

“It wasn’t a very good time in my life,” he admitted. “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 f—ing act.”

While Harington has clearly been insecure throughout most of his time on Game of Thrones, we can confidently say he's become a well respected actor because of the role. We'll see him portray Jon Snow once more when Season 8 premieres on HBO on April 14.