The Silence of the Lambs actor reveals “a crisis” made him hit the bottle and he “couldn’t stop” drinking as a result.
Hopkins admits he went through a low period of his life while he was boozing and subsequently sought religious help.
He tells Piers Morgan Tonight, “I used to be an atheist. I was an agnostic for many years. (I had) a crisis in my life, some 35 years ago, and I was hell bent on destruction. And I just asked for a little bit of help, and suddenly, pow. It was just like, bingo. I was here in New York at the time and I was in desperate straights. I was drinking – couldn’t stop. It was like being possessed by a demon, an addiction, and I couldn’t stop.
“Suddenly, in Los Angeles, I made that quantum leap when I asked for help. I just found something and a woman talked to me and she said, ‘Just trust in God.’ And I said, ‘Well, why not?’ And (it) was such a quantum leap from this to that. I think because I asked for help, which is a form of prayer. Because you – if the ego – if I say, ‘Well, I can do it on my own. I can do anything on my own. I can conquer anything.’ That’s nonsense. I can’t conquer anything.”
After speaking to a priest, Hopkins changed his outlook – and he’s sure that has helped him focus on his life.
He says, “I knew a psychiatrist in London who was a priest and I went to him to – I’m looking for guidance once, not therapy, and he said, ‘Why do you want to become a Catholic?’ I said, ‘I just need a centre in my life.’ He said, ‘Well, think very carefully before you do that. It’s a big deal.’
“He said what is the problem? I said, ‘I just feel a bit lost.’ He said, ‘Well, join the human race.’ And he told me about his own loss of faith, and not being a theologian myself, I thought – I said, ‘What’s it like?’ He said, ‘It’s hell. But you’ll find your way back or you destroy yourself.'”
