{"id":993762,"date":"2026-01-08T06:41:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T06:41:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=461195"},"modified":"2026-01-08T06:41:27","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T06:41:27","slug":"game-of-thrones-star-kristian-nairn-says-world-of-warcraft-got-him-off-drugs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/game-of-thrones-star-kristian-nairn-says-world-of-warcraft-got-him-off-drugs\/","title":{"rendered":"Game of Thrones star Kristian Nairn says World of Warcraft got him off drugs"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For Game of Thrones<\/em><\/a> fans, the biggest appeal of Kristian Nairn\u2019s memoir Beyond the Throne: Epic Journeys, Enduring Friendships, and Surprising Tales<\/em><\/a> will likely be the behind-the-scenes stories. From being cast as huge, nearly mute servant Hodor<\/a> up until the character\u2019s death, Nairn was there for most of the series, and he tells a lot of entertaining, sometimes startling tales<\/a> about what it was like to go from minor-league actor to worldwide fame on a demanding, secretive hit show. Those stories are mixed in with thoughts about his career as a DJ and drag performer, his coming out as a queer man, and his work on Our Flag Means Death<\/em><\/a>. But for gamers, the biggest surprise in the book will likely be the point where he credits World of Warcraft<\/em><\/a> with helping him kick a nearly fatal drug addiction.<\/p>\n

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In the book, Nairn discusses a period of his life where he fell for an aloof addict whose heavy drug use lured Nairn into abusing narcotics\u00a0as well: \u201cI\u2019m snorting so much coke that when I lift my head off the pillow, usually past midday, it\u2019s still encrusted into the cotton like cardboard,\u201d he writes at one point. He used amphetamines and cocaine to get through all-night DJ sets, ecstasy to enhance the club experience, and codeine to ease the jitters from the other drugs, while also drinking heavily: On one night, he recalls consuming \u201cas many as thirty\u201d Red Bull and vodka cocktails.<\/p>\n

Nairn saw his physical and mental health were deteriorating, along with his professional life. After a catastrophic ketamine experience, he retreated to a bungalow at the foot of Ireland\u2019s Mourne Mountains and played WoW <\/em>\u201cfrom dawn till dusk\u201d while detoxing from the drugs.<\/p>\n

Nairn\u2019s book gets specific about his tastes in World of Warcraft <\/em>roles: why he always chooses non-human characters (\u201cwho the hell wants to plug in and look like an accountant?\u201d) and DPS types (because he secretly wants to \u201chit out at the world\u201d), and addresses what he gets out of the game, from dopamine rushes to friends around the world. Naturally, Polygon had to reach out to talk to Nairn about his relationship with gaming.<\/p>\n

Note: Part one of our conversation with Kristian Nairn<\/a> about his life, career, and Game of Thrones<\/em> ran as part of our fall 2024 preview. This second half of the interview, focused on video games, has been edited for concision and clarity.<\/p>\n

Polygon: What kind of gamer are you? Do you dig into games like World of Warcraft<\/em> more for the story, for achievements, for the escapism, or something else?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kristian Nairn: <\/strong>I\u2019m a collector and a completist. So in Warcraft<\/em>, for example, the mounts and the gear and the transmogrifications for your character \u2014 you can change your clothes to look like whatever you want \u2014 that\u2019s what I really go for. I\u2019d like to come swanning in on a really hard-to-get mount, that kind of thing. <\/p>\n

With PvP, I get too stressed. I\u2019m terrible. My friend Jake and I would play PvP together, and we just had to stop, or the friendship would not be here today. We\u2019d have killed each other. I get too stressed. And that\u2019s why I never play a healer. I have so much respect for healers and tanks, who have all the responsibility. I just get to sit there and pew-pew. But that game has involved me so much over the years. It\u2019s incredible. That\u2019s what I go for \u2014 trying to get everything I want in the game. I do that in real life too, I think.<\/p>\n

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What\u2019s been a particularly memorable fight or scene or quest for you? What\u2019s something you think no <\/strong>World of Warcraft<\/em><\/strong> player should miss?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, I mean, it\u2019s literally a world, as you know. I remember I was in the Wrath of the Lich King<\/em> expansion<\/a>, and there was a cinematic at the Wrathgate that was really emotional for me. A lot of people were talking about it at the time \u2014 it was a big cutscene [after which] the Undercity was invaded. It\u2019s with characters you\u2019ve known for years, and it\u2019s huge. It hit me so hard. I said, \u201cMy God, I love this game.\u201d I never had that from a game before, where you\u2019re so invested in the characters.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what it\u2019s about to me as well \u2014 the characters and the lore. Which has been messed with a wee bit<\/a> recently, I have to admit. But as someone who\u2019s worked with scripts, I know how hard it is to retcon, how hard it is to bring stories together when you\u2019re constantly expanding. But some of those characters, they\u2019re as well-written as Tolkien characters. That might come back to bite me, that statement, but I think they\u2019re really well-written, and that\u2019s what I love most about it.<\/p>\n

Any character who particularly stands out for you as well written or meaningful in that way?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[laughs<\/em>] My favorite character is very controversial. To qualify this statement \u2014 because people say she\u2019s kind of been ruined by one of the last expansions, but I still love her \u2014 she\u2019s done some very questionable things. Sylvanas Windrunner, she kind of turned to genocide<\/a>. Some weird lore decisions were made about her, but I still love her. Patty Mattson, who plays her voice, I even had her on my answering machine as my greeting \u2014 I had Sylvanas reading my greeting, that\u2019s how much I love Sylvanas. So that\u2019s my favorite character. I also loved Tirion Fordring, who\u2019s currently dead, although no one really stays dead, it seems, in Warcraft<\/em>. It\u2019s like Sigourney Weaver in the Alien movies.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s something really wholesome about your story in the book about using <\/strong>WoW<\/em><\/strong> to kick drug addiction. <\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know about \u201cwholesome,\u201d but if I look at the damage-results scale from addictions, a whole different scale [from drugs]. Although I know people have definitely lost friends and partners over Warcraft<\/em>. I\u2019ve definitely receded from the world with it. But I needed to do that at the time. I needed to recede a bit, and that\u2019s how I used it. I\u2019m in a much healthier place now \u2014 and I actually think the evolution of the game allows you to play it and stay in a healthier place now, because you can do things faster.<\/p>\n

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