Daniel Radcliffe spoke about developing a drinking problem while filming the Harry Potter franchise in British GQ. He’s not the only young actor to have struggled with alcoholism.
1. Daniel Radcliffe: The Harry Potter star, 21, admitted to developing a drinking problem while shooting Half Blood Prince. “There were a few years there when I was just so enamored with the idea of living some sort of famous person’s lifestyle that really isn’t suited to me,” said the actor, who has been sober since the final installment of the Harry Potter franchise wrapped last summer (it hits theaters July 15). “I’d just rather sit at home and read, or talk to somebody that makes me laugh.”
2. Drew Barrymore: Hand picked by Steven Spielberg to star in E.T. At age 6, Barrymore admitted she had her first drink at 9 and began using drugs the following year. By 13, she had gone to rehab twice. “From the time I became famous in E.T., my life got really weird. One day I was a little girl, and the next day I was being mobbed by people who wanted me to sign my autograph or pose for pictures or who just wanted to touch me. It was frightening,” she said.
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3. David Arquette: The actor told Oprah Winfrey that he had his first beer at four years old. “I was down in the basement with my dad, and beer was there, and I just grabbed it and drank it, and I remember that, it’s one of my earliest memories,” he recalled. “I seriously started drinking probably when I was about 12. Kids are doing a lot of stuff very early. I stole pot from my dad when I was eight years old.”
4. Tatum O’Neal: The youngest Academy Award winner admitted in her book, A Paper Life, that she tried to kill herself by overdosing on drugs and alcohol at age 12, which she says she got from her father, Ryan O’Neal. She struggled with drug and alcohol addiction for most of her adult life.
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5. Lindsay Lohan: The actress says she hit “rock bottom” around age 20, when her father, Michael, spoke negatively about her in the press. “I abused substances too much and it wasn’t the answer to my problems. People need to know that,” she said. “I tried to mask my problems with alcohol, cocaine and mind-altering substances.” She recently completed a house arrest jail sentence.
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