Alec Baldwin's journey from addiction to sobriety ahead of trial
Alec Baldwin was initially addicted to drugs and then to alcohol. He was a prime candidate to join the tragic rock'n'roll "27 Club" alongside Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, who died at the age of 27. The actor has been sober for a long time but recently admitted that he still feels tempted by the forbidden fruit.
7 May 2024 18:33
Baldwin ended his battle with heavy drugs in the mid-1980s, even before his film debut and roles in "Beetlejuice", "Working Girl" and "The Hunt for Red October". His issue with drugs began soon after moving from Los Angeles to New York, where he was starting his television career.
"I didn't stray from the "white path" for two years. I think I snorted a line of cocaine as long as from here to Saturn. [...] I even did a loop around its ring before coming back on the path home. Back then, cocaine was like coffee. Everyone was taking it all day long," the actor recalled on the podcast "Our Way".
From drugs to alcohol
Alec Baldwin quit drugs following an overdose.
"I had no idea what was happening. I felt a sudden thump in my chest, and then I lost consciousness," he reported in his autobiography "Nevertheless".
The actor was saved and quit cocaine but attempted to fill that void with alcohol. Eventually, he overcame his addictions a few months before his 27th birthday.
"I was very lucky because not many people get sober when they are young. [...] It was a difficult time. It was really very painful," he confessed on "Good Morning America".
"I miss drinking"
39 years later, Baldwin still faces inner temptations.
"I don't miss drugs, but I miss drinking. I liked to drink," he stated in the podcast.
On July 10, at 12:00 PM GMT, the trial will begin in which the actor will be accused of involuntarily causing the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the movie "Rust".
