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Kit Harington has opened up about the toll Game of Thrones took on his mental health, revealing he had to take a year off after the HBO epic concluded, The Hollywood Reporter said. 

Speaking recently on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show, the 34-year-old actor said the “nature” of the violent, intense, emotional series “directly” broke him down in reality.

“I went through some mental health difficulties after Thrones, and during the end of Thrones, to be honest,” Harington told Cagle. “I think it was directly due to the nature of the show and what I had been doing for years.”

Harington said he made the decision to take a break after Game of Thrones to “really concentrate on myself,” adding, “I’m really happy I did that.”

Harington starred as Jon Snow on the series, which turned into a cultural obsession, running for eight seasons.

It was widely reported that in May 2019 — that same month Game of Thrones ended — Harington checked into a mental health and wellness facility to seek help for “some personal issues.”

“Just when I was wanting to come back to work the pandemic hit,” he said of moving onward. The actor recently filmed an episode of Modern Love, the second season of which hits Amazon Prime on Friday, just for the sake of fun, he said.

“You don’t have to live in that intense place all the time,”  Harington said. “Why don’t you do something that takes the weight off? Why don’t you do something fun?”

Next up, Harington will star Marvel’s Eternals, due in theaters Nov. 5.