By India McCarty
Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins is celebrating 50 years of sobriety!
“Here we are, another happy new year coming up. Lots of cheer, lots of fun and all that. So really have a great time,” he said in a recent Instagram video. “Congratulations on reaching another year, to all of you. My only problem was I had too good a time because 50 years ago today I was nearly killed by driving my car in a drunken blackout. That’s the way it was. But I realized at that point that I was having too much fun. It was called alcoholism.”
Hopkins continued, “So anyone out there who’s got a little problem with having too much, check it out because life is much better. So I stopped. Without bragging, I got help and 50 years ago today was the end.”
“Choose life instead of the opposite. Life life life and more life. I’m also going to be 88 in two days. So maybe I did something right, I don’t know,” he concluded. “Happy New Year and happy life!”
Related: Anthony Hopkins Credits God For Nearly 50 Years of Sobriety
In a video posted last year celebrating his sobriety, Hopkins encouraged others to get the help he did that saved his life.
“If you do have a problem – having fun is wonderful, having a drink is fine – but if you are having a problem with the booze, there is help,” he told his followers. “It’s not a terrible deal, it’s a condition. If you’re allergic to alcohol, get some help. There’s plenty of help around.”
Hopkins has been open about his struggles with sobriety, sharing the story of his decision to stop drinking in his memoir, We Did OK, Kid.
“During my drinking years I had caused a lot of pain,” the actor wrote. “I never had any idea that I was an alcoholic. Rarely does a heavy drinker wake up to that without an intervention of some kind, and even then it takes a while to sink in. Denial is the greatest killer. And I was still in the grips of my addiction, though it was getting harder to deny it.”
It wasn’t until 1975, when Hopkins drove home drunk and realized he could have killed someone, that he decided to make a change.
“I heard a voice ask me, Do you want to live or do you want to die? I want to live, a voice answered from somewhere deep inside me,” he wrote. “Then I heard the voice say, It’s all over now. You can start living. The craving to drink left me. That was eleven o’clock on December 29, 1975.”
Hopkins’ message to anyone struggling with sobriety is an inspiring reminder that one choice can change your life for the better.
Read Next: Why This Hollywood Legend Has ‘Never Felt Like a Victim’
Questions or comments? Please write to us here.
– Content: +1Share:
– Content: +1