Daniel Radcliffe Admits Alcoholism

The leading protagonist of the Harry Potter movies, Daniel Radcliffe, admitted to suffering from an excessive reliance on alcohol.  Radcliffe revealed his dependency on alcohol in an interview with the United Kingdom’s GQ magazine.  “I became reliant on [alcohol] to enjoy stuff … 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,” he confessed.  Radcliffe disclosed that his problem with alcohol abuse actually began on the set of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in 2007 when he began drinking whiskey and was able to avoid paparazzi shots.

Fortunately, Radcliffe affirmed that he realized it became a problem on the set of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and has remained sober since August 2010.   “And that’s been the realization of the past few years for me … As much as I would love to be a person that goes to parties and has a couple of drinks and has a nice time, that doesn’t work for me. I’d just rather sit at home and read, or go out to dinner with someone, or talk to someone I love, or talk to somebody that makes me laugh,” Radcliffe said.

Radcliffe’s revelation has sparked some controversy on whether his claim towards substance abuse is true or a publicity stunt.  The recent unveiling of the national study by the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia that was just published last week said that teen smoking, drinking, prescription drugs, and using illegal drugs as a public health problem rising to the status of an epidemic.  This new CASA study has led to accusations suggesting that the unveling of Radcliffe’s alcoholism and this new study within weeks of each other cannot be a coincidence.  Some argue that Radcliffe is feigning alcoholism in attempt to acquire publicity.  CASA revealed some pretty alarming stats including that 90 percent of Americans who meet the medical criteria for addiction started smoking, drinking, or using other drugs before the age of 18.

However, some disagree and commend the Harry Potter star for speaking openly about his problems.  Arguing that Radcliffe serves as a role model to young adults in direct opposition with other young stars of today.  “The young actor is lucky that he became aware that he was headed down a dangerous path.   The fact that he’s willing to admit he had a problem is respectable. Maybe other young stars can take a cue from Radcliffe when they find themselves struggling with substance abuse. As he proves, not every young star with problems needs to turn out like Lindsay Lohan,” says Kate Ward at PopWatch.