'Yellowstone' actor Wes Bentley credits Robert Downey Jr for inspiring him to overcome addiction
Nov 06, 2022
Washington [US], November 6 : Actor Wes Bentley of 'Yellowstone' fame has credited Hollywood star Robert Downey Jr for inspiring him to overcome his drug addiction in the early 2000s.
According to Fox News, Bentley, at the show's season five premiere, told Page Six that Downey's openness about his own struggles motivated him to get sober when he was at the height of his addiction.
"I was in the deepest throes of my addiction and in the worst place and at death's door, I guess, or at risk of it and I saw him be so bold and brave and open and it saved me... So I thought if I do that too, I can maybe pass that on to somebody else," Bentley told the outlet.
The 'Iron Man' star battled alcohol and drug addiction for decades before getting sober in 2003.
Bentley rose to fame after he starred as Ricky Fitts in the Best Picture Oscar-winning 1998 film 'American Beauty'.
However, he said that as a young actor, he was overwhelmed by his sudden success and turned to drugs and alcohol to cope. "I never had money before. So there was a lot of combination of things I wasn't prepared for," he told Page Six.
Bentley was arrested in 2008 and pleaded guilty to heroin possession. He was ordered into counselling and 12-step programs but continued to relapse and use heroin until he was broke.
However, in 2009, the actor said that he met a man who helped him end the cycle of addiction and embrace sobriety.
"I met a guy who had been sober and didn't know, that I was struggling. He just talked about what a beautiful life he had now, and how he's looking out the window at the trees, and I missed that," he told Page Six, as per Fox News.
