Chase Stokes has said his liver and a kidney were “failing” after he finished filming Outer Banks.
The 33-year-old American actor played John B on the Netflix series, which premiered in 2020 and released its fifth and final season this week.
However, Stokes has now detailed the health issues he faced after the series wrapped.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, he said there was “so much s*** wrong” with his body.
Stokes said: “I left that show… my liver was failing, my kidney was failing. I had so many health issues that I had to figure out, and my brain was all out of whack.
“It was a really important time for me to get my bearings right versus just go back into work and mask it.”
Stokes explained that he discovered he had “alarmingly low” testosterone levels and started undertaking blood tests twice a month and transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy, as well as “deep, intensive therapy work”.
He continued: “Hindsight is 2020, but I probably, unfortunately, wouldn’t have been around much longer if I didn’t take care of my body, which is a really jarring thought.
“Unfortunately, we’ve seen great people leave this earth too soon for just continuing to go [on], and I have a lot to live for. I have a lot that I want to do, and a lot I want to accomplish.”
The actor added that he now feels “great for the first time in a long time”.
In the interview, Stokes also admitted the success of the show and his resulting fame left him facing a “really hard time”.
He recalled one experience when he was walking his dog in Los Angeles and had a tour bus stop next to him and had people “just taking photos of me”.
“There isn’t really an idiot’s guide of how to navigate success in this space,” he said.
Reflecting on the end of the series, Stokes went on to say he “truly never in a million years thought that I would ever be a part of something that had the impact that this character, and this universe, has created”.
He described himself as “so grateful that I was a part of something that gave people hope in a very confusing time in human history”, referencing how the first season was released during the pandemic.
An action-adventure series, Outer Banks is set in a community in the Outer Banks of North Carolina and follows two groups of teenagers as they search for lost treasure.
Before being cast, Stokes previously had small roles in other shows, including Stranger Things, Daytime Divas, and Tell Me Your Secrets.
Source: Press Association