'Game of Thrones' Alum Richard Madden Dodges Questions About Former Co-Star Kit Harington Amid Wellness Treatment

Rocketman actor Richard Madden would not answer questions about his former Game of Thrones co-star [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

Rocketman actor Richard Madden would not answer questions about his former Game of Thrones co-star Kit Harington, who is now in a wellness retreat in Connecticut, during the red carpet premiere for his new movie.

Madden was asked about Game of Thrones, but admitted it has been so long since he was last on the show he often forgets he ever was. Then, a reporter asked him about Harington.

"I'm not going to comment on that," the Scottish actor said before he walked away from the reporters.

Madden's breakthough role was playing Robb Stark in the first three seasons of Game of Thrones. His character was killed during the infamous Red Wedding, seen in "The Rains of Castamere," which aired back in June 2013. The actor has since gone on to star in Disney's Cinderella and plays manager John Reid in the Elton John biopic Rocketman. Earlier this year, he won a Golden Globe for the BBC/Netflix series Bodyguard.

Last week, Harington checked into a mental health retreat in Connecticut that reportedly costs over $120,000 a month, and began attending Alcoholic Anonymous meetings. His representatives later said he checked into the retreat to "work on some personal issues" during a break in his schedule.

Harington's wife, fellow former Game of Thrones star Rose Leslie, is reportedly supporting him and encouraged him to get help.

"Rose is very supportive and proud of him for recognizing that he needed to take care of himself. It's hard to ask for help," an insider told E! News. "She was very encouraging. Seeing Kit struggle was stressful for her, as well. She absolutely agreed that he needed to get some help so that he could feel better."

The source said Harington "has felt lost" since Game of Thrones ended. He was one of the few main characters to survive all the way to the end of the series (after being brought back from the dead, though), and openly talked about being emotional about the show's ending. Fans saw him in tears during the final table read when he read his last scene with Emilia Clarke in video shown during the documentary Game of Thrones: The Last Watch.

While Madden did not want to talk about Harington, Joe Dempsie, whose supporting character Gendry also made it to the finale, did during a recent BBC interview. He said he felt lucky not to be part of the main chat, who had to deal with the pressure of being stars for seven seasons.

"One of the things that struck me when I returned in season seven, was how life had profoundly changed for quite a few people in that cast, in terms of fame and recognition," Dempsie explained. "And it made me really thankful that I wasn't one of the core group of actors, that really has to carry the weight of this show on their shoulders, and whose faces sell it because it is a hell of a lot of pressure... For a lot of the others, for whom it's all they've known for the best part of a decade, it's a really hard thing to deal with – that being taken away all of a sudden."

Photo credit: DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images

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