Ewan McGregor is opening up about his alcohol addiction.
During an interview with Variety, the actor admitted he had no idea that, when playing a heroin addict in 1996's "Trainspotting," he would end up with addiction problems himself. The topic came about while discussing his role as a fashion designer who nearly lost everything through addiction in the series "Halston."
"I became sober in 2000," he said. "So now, when I’m looking at characters who are addicts, I look at it through a different lens of understanding it more. An everyday part of my life is being sober. But at the same time, it’s quite an important part because it’s given me such joy and happiness and peace in a way I didn’t have before I was sober."
McGregor added that it was "interesting to do all those lines of coke and all those cigarettes and shots that Halston was doing and just being glad they weren’t real." Being happy about it, yes, but at the same time also "understanding it," he said.
During the interview, McGregor recounted working with a team who helped him to research and further understand addiction to help him prepare for his role in "Trainspotting."
"There’s a club in Glasgow called the Calton Athletic club and it’s a recovery group. They have meetings, they help each other with support and they play soccer," he said. "We worked with those guys, and we had a drug adviser. We were all given the things we would need to cook up a shot of heroin, like a little cigarette lighter and a spoon and matches and some bicarb soda and pretend heroin. He demonstrated how you would do it, and then he would walk up and down the line as we’re all trying to do it. He’d be like, 'More bicarb. That’s not enough heroin.'"
He added, "It was funny."
McGregor has not shied away from speaking about his addiction. During an interview with "CBS Sunday Morning" earlier this year, the "Moulin Rouge!" star explained how dependency could keep a person in denial and unwilling to seek help.
"I understand it, addiction. And I’m not judgmental about it, you know?" he said. "Because I’ve walked that path for so many years, and it’s very cunning and you will absolutely live in denial, you know? People can’t see it."
If you or someone you know is suffering from addiction, call the American Addiction Centers hotline on (866) 399-3979 for free and confidential guidance. For listings of drug and alcohol rehab centers in your state, visit Addiction Helpline America.
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Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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