Actor Bradley Cooper talks candidly about his journey to fame in the latest issue of The Hollywood Reporter, including his struggle with addiction.
He has enjoyed a great deal of fame over the past few years thanks to a number of box office hits, including ‘The Hangover’ and ‘Wedding Crashers.’ The icing on the cake for the 37-year-old actor was undoubtedly being named PEOPLE’s 2011 Sexiest Man Alive.
Many don’t realize that the seemingly uncomplicated actor had a wild past that he is happy to have put behind him. Cooper admits, “I don’t drink or do drugs at all anymore. Being sober helps a great deal.”
He shared an example from his past, “I was at a party and deliberately bashed my head on the concrete floor — like, ‘Hey, look how tough I am!’ And I came up, and blood dripped down. And then I did it again. I spent the night at St. Vincent’s Hospital with a sock of ice, waiting for them to stitch me up.”
The actor revealed, “I was so concerned what you thought of me, how I was coming across, how I would survive the day. I always felt like an outsider. I just lived in my head. I realized I wasn’t going to live up to my potential, and that scared the hell out of me. I thought, ‘Wow, I’m actually gonna ruin my life; I’m really gonna ruin it.’ “
Although his friends urged him to take a close look at his life, he didn’t listen, “Part of me believed it, and part of me didn’t. But the proof was in the pudding: I’d always gotten up at the crack of dawn, and that was out the window. I remember looking at my life, my apartment, my dogs, and I thought, ‘What’s happening?’ “
He took control of his demons when he hit age 29 and he has been living a life of sobriety for the past eight years. Read the rest of Cooper’s story here.
Cooper’s latest film ‘Words’ hits theaters this weekend, Sept. 7.
Photo Credit: The Hollywood Reporter