Two-time Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins has called on anyone struggling with alcohol addiction to “choose life” and seek help as he celebrates 50 years of sobriety.
The Welsh actor, who turns 88 on Wednesday (31), said he realized he needed help after “almost dying” while driving during a “black out” on December 29, 1975.
In a video message shared on his Instagram page, Hopkins said: “I asked for help and 50 years ago on this day it ended.”
“So as not to spoil the fun, I just wish you all would choose life over the other way around.”
Hopkins added: “I realized at that moment that I was having too much fun. It was called alcoholism.”
“So anyone who has a little problem with overdoing it, take a look at this, because life is so much better.”
Congratulating those who celebrate their recovery from addiction “one day at a time”, he said: “I’ll be 88 in two days too, so maybe I did something right.”
“Anyway, Happy New Year and happy, happy life.”
In 2018, Hopkins spoke openly about his alcoholism when he spoke to a group of University of California students.
He admitted that he was “very difficult to work with” early in his theater career as he was “usually hungover”.
Hopkins said that when he drank he was a “disgusting, ruined and untrustworthy” person.
He said his life changed after talking to a woman about Alcoholics Anonymous in 1975.
The actor, born in Port Talbot, Wales, is considered one of the world’s greatest living actors and became known for playing serial killer Hannibal Lecter in the 1991 film “The Silence of the Lambs.”
Hopkins’ portrayal of Hannibal Lecter won him an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1992.
He returned to the role in the sequel “Hannibal” (2001) and the prequel “Red Dragon” (2002).
The actor won a second Academy Award for Best Actor in 2021, for his performance in Florian Zeller’s “My Father,” a film about Alzheimer’s disease that also stars Olivia Colman in the cast.
According to the NHS, the UK’s public health system, alcoholism occurs when a person loses control over their drinking and feels an excessive desire to drink – a condition also known as alcohol dependence.
This text was originally published here
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