A child star who shot to fame in the Terminator films looks so different now following a battle with drink and drugs – which was so bad he lost his teeth.
Edward Furlong became a household name at the age of 13 when he was plucked from obscurity to star opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1991 movie.
But the now 44-year-old says the pressures of starring as John Connor in Terminator 2: Judgement Day resulted in him getting hooked on booze and drugs.
Although he went on to have other starring roles in films such as American History X, his career dwindled when he started using cocaine, crystal meth and heroin regularly.
His addiction also led to him being arrested multiple times and even spending time in jail.
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In a new interview, Edward reveals he has turned his life around and been sober for almost five years now.
He is also about to relaunch his movie career and has been filming in Texas with Brad Keller, who worked on 1991 thriller JFK, for a new project called Charlie’s Horse.
Speaking to DailyMail.com, the former child star shared: “It’s amazing I’m still alive. There were a couple of close calls. I definitely OD’d [overdosed], but that’s the cycle, you know.”
Edward said growing up he didn’t feel like a “normal teenager” and never felt like he fit in anywhere.
“I was almost destined for drug addiction,” he explained. “When I was high, I had camaraderie with other people. Just drinking and partying. All of a sudden I felt I fit in somehow. That’s how it started.”
At first he started smoking weed and drinking, which was followed by taking magic mushrooms.
But as he hit his twenties, he was taking drugs daily at ‘parties’ where cocaine and heroin were also added to the mix.
Edward managed to scale back his drug use when he married actress Rachael Bella – best known for starring in horror film The Ring – in 2006.
The couple had a son together, Ethan, who is now 15.
But while Edward was able to kick his heroin addiction and ‘maintain’ a diet of alcohol, weed and the occasional line of coke for a while, it wasn’t to last.
Rachael filed for divorce in 2012 and behind the scenes Edward became hooked on meth and heroin again.
In January 2013 he spent 61 days in prison after being arrested for domestic battery against his then-girlfriend Monica Keena.
During his time in prison he was ordered to complete a 90-day drug program.
But unable to kick his habit, he admits to “shooting loads and load of heroin, meth and smoking DMT [a psychedelic drug] all the time” when he got out.
In 2016, he and a friend checked into a hotel in Ventura, a small town about 40 miles north of LA, with the intention of kicking heroin.
To get them through their withdrawal, the pair brought a bag of meth with them.
But when staff discovered syringes and evidence of drug use in their room, they called the police and Edward was arrested again.
“It was actually getting arrested for such a bulls*** thing that ended up getting me sober,” he confessed.
“It's the bravest thing I've ever done in my life to not use. I'm not someone who likes to be controlled by anything or anyone and I didn't want to be a slave to it anymore.“
Since then Edward has managed to stay clean and is getting his life back on track following decades of addiction.
As well as starring in a new movie, he says he has a “wonderful relationship” with his son.
He also has a new set of teeth to replace his old ones which rotted away as a result of his drug abuse.
The actor said as time goes on kicking his demons is getting “easier than I thought it would be” and people “like me better sober”.
Calling it the “greatest thing I’ve ever done”, the dad-of-one says he is can’t wait to get his five-year sober chip.
He added: “Things are slowly turning around and I just want to get my life back to what it was.
“I f***ed so many people over when I was on drugs, gaining back the trust of the people that worked with you when you’ve flaked on them so much is a long process.
“It’s like the friendship that happens after a bad break-up – people are learning to trust me again.”
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