Actor and DJ Kristian Nairn is a lovable geek icon of the past decade or so, having made his mark as Hodor in the occasionally viewed Game of Thrones series. World of Warcraft fans also knew that Nairn was “one of them,” as he’d been an outspoken fan of the MMO and even showed up at BlizzCon 2016 to play a set.
But what wasn’t as well known — at least until recently — is that Kristian Nairn’s engagement with World of Warcraft helped him overcome a rather serious drug addiction. This revelation comes from Nairn’s new biography, Beyond the Throne (not an affiliate link), in which he said he had a huge drug habit that was playing havoc with his physical health.
So where does WoW come into this? Nairn said that after a particularly bad drug experience, he went in for detox and engrossed himself in the MMORPG “from dawn till dusk” as a distraction.
“I needed to recede a bit, and that’s how I used it. I’m in a much healthier place now — 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,” he told Polygon.
And yes, Nairn still plays WoW, although he generally keeps his real identity in the game secret. Fun fact: Nairn actually guested on our podcast on Old Massively back in 2012 (and he was delightful!).
