Sir Anthony Hopkins first turned to alcohol to help him handle his sudden fame in Hollywood, RadarOnline.com can report.
Before long, his drinking became out of control, nearly costing him his life – and the lives of others.
The legendary actor described how his ‘unhappiness’ contributed to his drinking.
Hopkins reflects on his fight for sobriety in his upcoming memoir, We Did OK, Kid. He once described himself not so much a heavy drinker as a lousy drinker.
He previously revealed that alcohol was a way for him to deal with his quick early success, and hinted he contemplated using the booze as a way to end his life.
“The stress was so terrific. I hardly ate, and I couldn’t sleep,” Hopkins said. “I think I was trying to destroy myself and get off the planet. I was so unhappy.”
Friends openly worried, with one sharing, “(Hopkins) was beyond the point of being the embarrassing drunk. He was completely unreliable in that he would go off drinking alone, to some downtown bar, and not show up till dawn. He would drink anything – tequila was a favorite, or vodka, anything.
“Then drunk, he would be utterly unreasonable and offensive.”
Hitting Rock Bottom
Hopkins, here in ‘The Silence of the Lambs,’ said he started drinking to help handle his sudden fame.
The 87-year-old confessed at his worst, he was teetering “at the brink of hell,” adding, “I used to space out and hallucinate. I was a lunatic, very hyper and manic. I was drinking all the time to kill the discomfort and self-contempt.”
But it all came to a literal crashing halt on December 29, 1975.
“I was driving over canyons, blacking out, not knowing where I was going. In the mornings, I would wonder, did I kill somebody? And I would check the front of my car,” the movie star recalled.
Hopkins remembered the experience vividly, describing a mysterious moment of clarity that followed.
“It was 11 o’clock precisely – I looked at my watch – and this is the spooky part: Some deep, powerful thought or voice spoke to me from inside and said: ‘It’s all over. Now you can start living. And it has all been for a purpose, so don’t forget one moment of it.'”
Hopkins Reaches Out for Help
After a night of drunk driving, Hopkins finally asked for help.
The next morning, he called Alcoholics Anonymous and made an appointment. He was soon in the AA office chatting with Dorothy, the contact counselor.
She asked him whether he had a problem with drinking. He admitted he did.
“But I don’t know what to do about it,” Hopkins said.
Dorothy told him to leave his phone number, and someone would call him shortly to offer advice.
Sobering Up
He has been sober for 49 years.
Hopkins proudly boasts that he hasn’t sipped alcohol for nearly 50 years now.
He detailed his battle while appearing on the New York Times podcast The Interview, confessing he used alcohol to escape pain from a “lonely” childhood and to “nullify that discomfort.”
“You know, booze is terrific because it makes you instantly feel in a different space,” he explained. “Actors in those days – Peter O’Toole, Richard Burton, all of them – I remember those drinking sessions, thinking, ‘This is the life. We’re rebels, we’re outsiders, we can celebrate.’ And at the back of the mind is: ‘It’ll kill you as well.’ Those guys I worked with have all gone.”
