{"id":240544,"date":"2025-10-26T03:34:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-26T03:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/240544\/"},"modified":"2025-10-26T03:34:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-26T03:34:08","slug":"anthony-hopkins-shares-how-he-knew-he-was-an-alcoholic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/240544\/","title":{"rendered":"Anthony Hopkins shares how he knew he was an alcoholic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anthony Hopkins looked back on how a terrifying incident jolted him into the realization that he was battling alcoholism. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was drunk and driving my car here in California in a blackout, no clue where I was going, when I realized that I could have killed somebody. Or myself, which I didn\u2019t care about,\u201d he said during a Saturday appearance on the New York Times\u2019 \u201cThe Interview\u201d podcast.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI could have killed a family in a car, you know.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Oscar winner<\/a> added, \u201cI realized that I was an alcoholic, and I came to my senses.\u201d <\/p>\n

Anthony Hopkins shared the moment he realized he was an alcoholic in a new podcast interview. Anthony Hopkins\/Instagram<\/p>\n

The \u201cSilence of the Lambs\u201d actor recalled a terrifying \u201cblackout\u201d incident while driving drunk. Getty Images for GEA<\/p>\n

Hopkins, 87, recalled seeing an ex-agent at a Beverly Hills party and admitting, \u201cI need help.\u201d <\/p>\n

Page Six has reached out to a rep for the actor for further comment. <\/p>\n

The iconic actor recalled other details \u2014 including the exact time he heard a voice that helped him put his drinking problem behind him, after reaching out to a 12-step program in Los Angeles. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was 11 o\u2019clock precisely \u2014 I looked at my watch,\u201d he divulged. <\/p>\n

\u201cI could have killed somebody,\u201d he told the New York Times\u2019 \u201cThe Interview\u201d podcast. Getty Images for GEA<\/p>\n

\u201cI came to my senses,\u201d the Oscar winner said. Anthony Hopkins\/Instagram<\/p>\n

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\u201cAnd this is the spooky part \u2014 some deep, powerful thought or voice spoke to me from inside and said, \u2018It\u2019s all over. Now you can start living. And it has all been for a purpose, so don\u2019t forget one moment of it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Hopkins said the voice \u2014 which he described as \u201cmale\u201d and \u201clike a radio voice\u201d \u2014 removed his desire to drink. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe craving to drink was taken from me, or left,\u201d he said. Hopkins has since been sober for decades<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cNow I don\u2019t have any theories except divinity or that power that we all possess inside us that creates us from birth, life force, whatever it is. It\u2019s a consciousness, I believe. That\u2019s all I know.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Hopkins recalled telling an ex agent that he needed help. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Hopkins, seen here with wife Stella Arroyave, celebrated 49 years of sobriety in December. BACKGRID<\/p>\n

The legendary \u201cSilence of the Lambs\u201d star \u2014 who celebrated 49 years of sobriety in December \u2014 also explained why drinking appealed to him as a younger actor. <\/p>\n

\u201cBooze is terrific because it makes you instantly feel in a different space,\u201d\u00a0he shared, adding that it \u201cmade [him] feel big\u201d and helped \u201cnullify\u201d his \u201cdiscomfort.\u201d <\/p>\n

He also reflected on having made it past his challenges. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are monstrous difficulties in life and you take notice of them,\u201d he said. \u201cBut finally, approaching 88 years of age, I wake up in the morning going: \u2018I\u2019m still here. How?’\u201d <\/p>\n

If you or someone you care about is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call SAMHSA\u2019s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Anthony Hopkins looked back on how a terrifying incident jolted him into the realization that he was battling…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":240545,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[5245,44472,28463,49,48,361,20165,362,75,337,329],"class_list":["post-240544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-addiction","tag-alcoholism","tag-anthony-hopkins","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-celebrities","tag-celebrity-interviews","tag-celebrity-news","tag-entertainment","tag-movies","tag-podcasts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240544"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240544\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}