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LOS ANGELES — Hollywood star Alec Baldwin, who has been embroiled in the 'Rust' fatal shooting case, has reflected on his sobriety journey and being drug-free for 39 years.
The actor, 66, appeared on the recent episode of the ‘Our Way with Paul Anka and Skip Bronson’ podcast to talk about his life and career, reports ‘People’ magazine.
"I don't discuss this a lot," he admitted when asked about whether he drinks alcohol. "I discuss it every now and then when it makes sense. I'm 39 years sober. I got sober February 23, 1985."
As per ‘People’, Baldwin recalled moving from his native New York City to Los Angeles in 1983, telling hosts Anka and Bronson, "I had a white-hot problem every day for two years. I think I snorted a line of cocaine from here to Saturn."
He and his friends in Hollywood, he said, "did one on the rings of Saturn, then we came home -- we took it back home. I mean, cocaine was like coffee back then. Everybody was doing it all day long."
Then, he said, “because I stopped doing drugs, my drinking increased, which they tell you is going to happen. And that did happen. I just started drinking".
Though he largely keeps his sobriety journey private, Baldwin detailed many such experiences in his 2017 memoir 'Nevertheless'. "I’m glad I got (sober) when I did because not many people get sober when they’re young," he told Good Morning America anchor George Stephanopoulos at that time.
In his 20s when he was “overdosing on drugs,” he added, “there was really, really a lot of pain in there”.
Explaining how he keeps calm, he said, “I do try to meditate”.
He added that the task is not without its challenges considering the kids he shares with his wife Hilaria Baldwin at home in New York.
“Meditating with seven children is like trying to play ping pong on the deck of an aircraft carrier. It's a real pain in the a**, man”, he added.