Charlie Sheen Gives Rare Insight Into His Sober Life After 6-Year Break From Hollywood
Charlie Sheen attends the premiere of California Strong Drive In Night at Calimigos on May 22, 2021 (Photo by Michael Buckner/Penske Media via Getty Images)
Charlie Sheen is opening up about his life of sobriety in a rare new interview.
The former Two and a Half Men star, who was fired from the series in 2011 after a rash of "epic" partying, stints in rehab, and, finally, a vulgar tirade against the co-creator of the series Chuck Lorre.
Sheen eventually disappeared from the public eye, but come January, he'll be six years sober. Today, he's ready to test the waters, so to speak, and get back out there.
"I have a very consistent lifestyle now," he recently told People. "It's all about single dad stuff, and raising my 14-year-old twin boys Max and Bob," (whom he shares with ex-wife Brooke Mueller, who struggles with addiction as well). There are no more rants about his "tiger blood," or being a "fricken rock star from Mars" on the horizon," the publication notes.
He once "loved drinking in the morning," especially "some scotch in the coffee," however, today, it's strictly business, waking up early in the morning to get a jump start on his day before waking up his kids and helping them get ready for theirs.
It's a far cry from the moment that finally led him to make some serious changes to his life, six years after losing the aforementioned gig. "One morning I'd forgotten my daughter had an appointment I'd promised to drive her to, and I'd already had a couple of pops that day," he recalled, referring either to daughter Sami, now 19, or Lola, now 18, whom he shares with ex-wife Denise Richards.
He called up a friend to help, and though they still managed to arrive on time, Sheen said it "broke [his] heart" to see her sitting in the backseat, where he could tell she was wondering, "Why isn't dad driving?"
The next morning, he quit drinking cold turkey, and has been sober ever since.
"I think the first month I was like, I'm going to have give it a month, just see if I feel any better, and if my interactions with those that are closest to me improve," he said. "And they did. And I'm like, all right, I'm going to go another month. And then it got traction. I had momentum."
He said the "evidence" was "instant" that he'd made the right choice. "I couldn't be in denial about it anymore."
Today, he's inching his way back into Hollywood, testing the potential for a comeback. He recently made up with Lorre and appeared as a guest star in his dark dramedy Bookie on Max.
He hopes to make fans happy again with his work, reflecting on how "for the longest time [he] had the best work reputation." He said he was always the first to arrive on set and the last to leave, often "over-prepar[ing]" for the scenes on the docket. "I would just check every box. And then that went away."
Now, he's "really excited about being that guy again." Though life looks a lot different today than it used to, Sheen said he's "proud of the choices that [he's] made and the changes [he's] made to live a life today that will never look like that mess."
His former self now seems like "some alien version" of who he sees himself as now.
Next: Angus T. Jones Is All Grown Up for 'Two and a Half Men' Reunion With Charlie Sheen
