I was lost, unhappy, and an alcoholic: Pegg

English actor Simon Pegg has opened up about his struggle with depression and alcoholism, saying that he checked into a rehabilitation centre to seek recovery. The 48-year-old actor said while he was shooting for Mission: Impossible III in 2006, he was “lost, unhappy, and alcoholic”.

“It was awful, terrible. It owned me,” he said to The Guardian, adding, “When I watch that film back, I can see where I was then, which was fairly lost, and unhappy, and an alcoholic.” The actor said he “micro managed” his condition for quite some time, till the ball dropped.

“One thing (addiction) does is make you clever at not giving anything away. People think junkies and alcoholics are slovenly, unmotivated people. They’re not — they are incredibly organised. They can nip out for a quick shot of whisky and you wouldn’t know they have gone. It’s as if … you are micro-managed by it,” Pegg said, adding, But eventually the signs are too obvious. You have taken the dog for one too many walks.”

Pegg revealed that while he was on a trip to Comic-Con to promote his 2011 movie Paul, he went missing for four days.

The actor said when he returned to the UK, his home, he went into rehab which helped him turn his life around. “I got into it. I got into the reasons I was feeling that way. I went into AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) for a while, too. I don’t think I would be here now if I hadn’t had help,” he said.

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK Simon Pegg went into rehabilitation in 2011