Daniel Radcliffe & 4 More Celebrities Who Battled Alcoholism
Fame, fortune, talent and beauty are amongst the qualities those in the public eye enjoy. Unfortunately, they come with a heavy price of media attention, pressure and fan obsession. Whilst many celebrities are able to deal with the pressures of constant scrutiny, others find it considerably more difficult and turn to alcoholism and substance abuse as a means of coping. Amongst them is Daniel Radcliffe.
We still think of Radcliffe as the eleven year old who first graced our screens as Harry Potter in 2001 but, at the age of 24, Radcliffe has admitted he has experienced problems with alcohol due to his long running fame. In an interview with Sky Arts, due to be broadcast later this year, he explained how the fame and attention from Harry Potter had taken its toll.
Radcliffe, as the Independent reports, said the attention "was not making me as happy as I wanted it to." He continued by explaining the pressure he felt from what people were saying and would say of him in the future, if his career did not take off after the film franchise. Speaking in the interview he said "It is not a real pressure but it is a pressure of living with the thought, 'Oh, what if all these people are saying I am not going to have a career? What if they are all going to be right and will be laughing and I will be consigned to a bunch of 'Where are they now?' lists?"
Read More: Daniel Radcliffe Filmed Harry Potter Scenes Whilst Drunk.
Radcliffe has succeeded in overcoming his difficulties with drink and has been sober since 2010. This appears to be largely due to how his career has benefitted from Harry Potter and how he is now regarded as an established and successful actor in his own right. Radcliffe said, regardless of the issues he faced, "I always will credit the opportunities I get to Harry Potter. I would not be a happy person if I was bitter about those ten years of my life."
Read More: Daniel Radcliffe Doesn't Speak To Emma Watson.
Yet Daniel Radcliffe is not the only person in the public eye to have experienced difficulties with alcohol. Here are four other famous people who waged a war with alcoholism - most succeeded but some lost with tragic consequences.
Next page: Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson publically admitted in 2006 he had issues with alcohol. The Mad Max actor released a lengthy statement in which he apologised for his previous behaviour which had drawn negative media attention. Gibson had been arrested the same year for a DUI and had had previously been in trouble with the law on the same charges.
At the time of his arrest in 2006, Gibson was accused (not for the first time) of being anti-Semitic owing to reports which suggested he had used a racial slur aimed at the arresting officer. He apologised in the statement, as CBS reports, and explained "I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested." He continued by admitting he had a long term alcohol addition, stating: "I disgraced myself and my family with my behaviour and for that I am truly sorry. I have battled with the disease of alcoholism for all of my adult life and profoundly regret my horrific relapse."
Gibson was ordered to get help for his alcoholism and has been sober since 2006. He has also been hugely supportive of Robert Downey Jr when he admitted to be struggling from the same problem.
Next page: Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse
Notoriously Amy Winehouse was involved with drugs and alcohol, making no secret of it with her 2006 single Rehab. Sadly, Winehouse died as a result of substance abuse in 2011. An inquest into the death of the singer revealed she had died of alcohol poisoning, as a second inquest in 2013 confirmed. When Winehouse's body was discovered, two empty vodka bottles were discovered on the floor by her leading the coroner to state the Back to Black singer had "voluntarily consumed" the alcohol, as the Mirror reports. Winehouse was discovered to have been over five times the legal driving limit with more than 420mg of alcohol in her blood stream.
Winehouse seemingly hid her alcoholism, in a fashion typical of those suffering from the disease, from her family. Her mother Janis Winehouse, speaking to the Daily Mail shortly after her daughter's death, said her daughter would not drink in front of her family. She added Winehouse, who was 27 when she died, had not intentionally killed herself. Janis praised her daughter as "incredibly strong" but that "alcohol addiction seemed to creep up on her and then just took her by surprise."
Next page: Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins has become one of Britain's most admired and prolific actors yet, in his youth, his career was endangered by his dependence on substance abuse. In a 2010 interview with the Daily Mail, Hopkins explained that whilst the rest of London was enjoying the 1960s and the liberation it seemingly brought, he was "was drinking [himself] into oblivion."
Much like Radcliffe, his drinking even affected his performances in films. Throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s, Hopkins would turn up to sets after a heavy night of drinking and not sleeping and still perform. He claimed that in one 1968 movie, The Looking Glass War, he was so drunk at one point he did not remember filming one pivotal scene. Hopkins said "I had a scene with Ralph Richardson in the back of a car that I don't even remember doing because I was so drunk. I caught the film on TV recently - I got the lines right but they sounded a bit muzzy." He continued to drink heavily throughout the early part of his career.
He finally stopped drinking when he reached rock bottom, not being able to remember where he was the night before. He has been sober for 34 years (at the time of the interview - now 37 years) after finally deciding enough was enough. In the interview Hopkins explained "One day I just thought, "I've had enough of this". It was simple. I didn't want to go on feeling bad. I don't miss drinking, not at all. I don't want to ever go back there. Now I just love English tea and digestive biscuits or Hobnobs."
Next page: Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper
Hollywood heart-throb Bradley Cooper recently admitted he does not drink after suffering from substance and alcohol abuse. Before he married in 2006, the Hangover actor had endured years of alcohol abuse which had impacted upon his life and career. He finally realised he was in danger of "sabotaging" his life if he continued on a self destructive spiral.
In an interview with GQ in January of this year, Cooper explained how his work and personal life were being affected by his drinking. Although he continued to turn up for work, he admits it did suffer and was finally forced to change. After becoming sober, he had to take any work he could before once again embarking on bigger budget roles.
Cooper explained how he felt he was drinking as a means of avoiding accepting himself. Now sober, he stated "the one thing that I've learned in life is the best thing I can do is embrace who I am and then do that to the fullest extent, and then whatever happens, happens."