“Avatar” star Sam Worthington’s battle with alcoholism nearly cost him his family and his life, the actor revealed in an interview published Thursday.
“I thought it was normal,” Worthington, now eight years sober, told Variety. “I didn’t like who I was. Drinking helped me get through the day.”
The 46-year-old actor said he started drinking heavily as he struggled to cope with success after starring in “Avatar.” He said he would often start drinking in the morning and continue throughout any given day.
“Nine out of 10 people couldn’t tell,” Worthington said. “They could probably smell it on me, but when they looked at me, they couldn’t tell. I was still doing my job — I just don’t think I was doing it very well.”
Worthington explained that his wife, Lara, was the one who convinced him to stop. She gave him an ultimatum: “You can do what you want, but I don’t need to be around this.”
“Avatar” was the highest-grossing movie of all time when it was released in 2009, and Worthington resented the lack of privacy that came with leading the film. He infamously punched a photographer in New York City's West Village in 2014.
“I’d go haywire over someone asking me for a photograph or taking a photograph of me,” Worthington told Variety. “If someone approached me, my anxiety would go through the roof.”
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