'Choose life': Sir Anthony Hopkins marks a golden milestone of 50 years sober
Sir Anthony Hopkins celebrates 50 years of sobriety.
Image: Angela Weiss / AFP
Sir Anthony Hopkins recently shared a deeply personal milestone with the world, celebrating an incredible 50 years of sobriety.
Just two days before his 88th birthday, the legendary actor took to social media to post a heartfelt video, reflecting on the day he decided to put down the bottle for good and encouraging others to do the same.
The reason for his sobriety isn’t just about health; it was born out of a moment of sheer terror.
Half a century ago, a younger Hopkins woke up in Arizona with no idea how he had arrived there or what he had done.
“My only problem was I had too good a time,” he shared in his video. “Because 50 years ago today, I was nearly killed. I drove my car in a drunken blackout. That’s the way it was. But I realised at that point that I was having too much fun. It was called alcoholism.”
In previous interviews, he has been even more candid about the "spooky" epiphany he had at 11 am that day. He recalled a voice from within saying, “It’s all over. Now you can start living.” Since that precise second, he says the craving to drink simply vanished.
For us in South Africa, the timing of Sir Anthony’s post is particularly poignant. Every year, our news cycles are dominated by the tragic toll of road deaths during the festive season, with drunk driving remaining a leading cause of these avoidable accidents.
Hopkins’ admission that he "could have killed a family" or himself is a reality that many local families face every December.
His message serves as a powerful reminder that behind the statistics are real people who have the power to choose a different path.
As he once told The New York Times, the gravity of that blackout was his final straw: “I thought, 'Well, I’ve got to stop this because I’m either going to kill somebody or myself.'”
What makes his message so moving is that Sir Anthony doesn't preach from a pedestal. He has often described himself as an "old sinner" who simply realised he was in "big, big trouble."
“I just wish you well. Choose life instead of the opposite. Life, life, and more life. I’m also going to be 88 in two days’ time. So maybe I did something right.”