Simon Pegg admits he’d ‘be dead’ if he hadn’t stopped drinking as he opens up on ‘worst times’ of alcoholism
metro.co.ukSimon Pegg has opened up on the ‘worst times’ of his alcohol addiction and says he would have died had he not sought help.The actor, who has starred in comedy blockbusters including Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, suffered from deep depression and alcoholism for years even as he enjoyed a hugely successful career.Simon now says he would likely have died had he not fought to put his life back together, recalling the worst moments of his addiction.In a new interview with The Times, Simon revealed he drank to ‘numb’ the feelings of depression, and became addicted to the sensation.He said he ‘knew I was depressed’ but ‘didn’t know how to escape’ the feelings without drinking – so he ‘became addicted to the sensation of being numb, rather than the chemical addiction.’Simon’s friends and family, including co-star Nick Frost, became concerned about his drinking, which during ‘the worst times’ could see him having alcohol at breakfast.But cutting out alcohol was not easy, and instead Simon ‘sort of threw [himself] off a cliff, and hit the ground hard at high speed.’Simon recalls one of the worst moments of his addiction, where he essentially blacked out for four days in San Diego following an appearance at Comic Con.Out of the missing days, he remembers sitting on the street eating pizza having lost his phone, briefly seeing Sigourney Weaver on a flight, and being in a hotel room in Santa Monica.At one point, he remembers thinking: ‘I must really look pathetic.’The actor eventually checked in to the Priory addiction clinic to get clean from alcohol, which he says saved his life.‘100% [I would be dead today otherwise],’ he said.‘Because, and I don’t think it’s too dramatic to say, that is the ultimate end of that line of.
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