Why megastars like Kit Harington wind up in rehab after a series ends
Call it the curse of the leading man.
On Tuesday, Page Six exclusively reported that “Game of Thrones” star Kit Harington checked into ritzy Connecticut rehab Privé-Swiss for stress, exhaustion and alcohol use.
A source close to the British actor, who played the HBO juggernaut’s brooding star Jon Snow, says Harington was hit hard by the culmination of the series. “He realized, ‘This is it — this is the end,’ ” the source tells Page Six.
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We’ve seen this before with other stars of major franchises: Shortly before “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” premiered in 2011, its boy-wizard star, Daniel Radcliffe, told the press that he had become “reliant” on alcohol. In March 2015, Jon Hamm, who played the three-martini-lunching Don Draper in “Mad Men,” checked into the New Canaan, Conn., rehab Silver Hill Hospital for alcohol addiction two months before the AMC show’s finale aired.
Clearly, a series’ closure marks the end of an era, for stars as well as its fans. But why does it seem to hit the actors — men, in particular — so hard?
It’s important to remember that “these are gigantic projects,” Donna Rockwell, an NYC-based clinical psychologist who specializes in the psychology of fame and celebrity, tells The Post. For gigs like these, she says, “you’re not just calling it in — you’re taking on another character, you’re becoming another person.”
Giving up a role like that, she says, is a deep loss that’s hard for a layman to imagine. “The strongest and most grounded among us would find it difficult to not look for coping mechanisms,” Rockwell says. That’s especially true because those stars have become accustomed to a certain level of attention and status — worsening their “looming fear of being a has-been.”
That, plus the “landscape of temptation” that fame brings with it — including access to plenty of substances, which stars may abuse well before acknowledging their issues — create a dangerous situation for male leads, Rockwell says.
“Men are the last people to go to therapy when they need it,” she says. And she thinks that might be especially true for men who play conventionally masculine, heroic characters. “Having to play the tough guy, and then having to actually be the tough guy, might be more than these men should have to carry.”
Celebs tend to go public with their struggles after a project comes to a close for logistical reasons, according to Dr. Damon Raskin, an addiction specialist who works with VIPs at luxury rehab facilities in Malibu, Calif. That’s when they finally have free time to deal with their personal demons, he says.
“When they have time to realize [that they are self-medicating with alcohol] and want to stop, they also have to address their mental health, because they can’t treat one without [treating] the other,” says Raskin.
Some of the high-end spots go above and beyond for their boldface clientele: At Privé-Swiss, where Harington’s staying, services offered include acupuncture, pilates, infrared sauna treatments, yoga, therapeutic massages and private villas with “housekeeping, fine linens [and a] gourmet chef,” according to the facility’s website. But above all else, treating a famous protagonist requires a gentler environment — preferably a small town — and a strong team, says Raskin.
“There’s usually an addiction specialist like myself, a psychiatrist, a psychotherapist and all of those types of group support,” he says of treatment centers. A recovery strategy typically consists of “an individualized plan for psychotherapy, nutrition, exercise and of course there’s medical attention if someone needs to be detoxed.”
As for the nonfamous among us — are there any equivalent situations that could send us into tailspins?
Rockwell thinks so. The transition away from entertainment hit-maker, she says, is comparable to commonplace, but big-feeling, life changes — even some that seem positive at the outset.
“It could be a promotion, having a child or graduating from college,” says Rockwell. “You could compare it to any great accomplishment, and the existential void that [accompanies it.]
“In the aftermath of achievement is empty space.”
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