Zac Efron Opens Up About Struggle With Addiction


Up until now, Zac Efron hasn’t opened up about his recent struggles. Now in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Efron is being very candid about how hard it is growing up in Hollywood and the path he has gone down.

Getting his start as an actor in the Disney film High School Musical, Efron had the world at his feet which got the actor in a bit of trouble as he was trying to navigate himself through the Hollywood scene.

Although he does admit to drinking saying, “I was drinking a lot, way too much,” Efron also says that it wasn’t just one thing that landed him into rehab twice. It was originally rumored that he went to rehab for a cocaine addiction, but Efron didn’t really narrow it down to one thing in particular. Instead, he focused on the path that got him to rock bottom.

“It’s never one specific thing. I mean, you’re in your 20s, single, going through life in Hollywood, you know? Everything is thrown at you. I wouldn’t take anything back; I needed to learn everything I did. But it was an interesting journey, to say the least.”

Before Zac Efron started filming his new comedy Neighbors, Efron entered into rehab around March of last year. It was rumored that on-set issues started up again, which centered around Efron’s partying lifestyle, and inevitably led to Efron not showing up on set.

Hoping to get back on track, Efron decided to join Alcoholics Anonymous as well as private therapy:

“I think it’s changed my life. I’m much more comfortable in my own skin. Things are so much easier now. It’s a never-ending struggle.”

Earlier in the year we reported that Efron was found on Skid Row, an area in LA where police are known to crack down on drug deals. It was reported that Efron and his bodyguard got into a fight with a group of people. In the interview the star opens up about that event that grabbed headlines.

“I saw that [the homeless man] was carrying some sort of a knife, or shank, and I got out of the car to disarm him. At some point, he dropped the knife, and I got hit pretty hard in the face – and almost instantly the police were there to break up the fight.”

Even though it hasn’t been the easiest road for Efron, it seems like the star is still optimistic about the road ahead:

“Without those moments where you feel like your lowest, it’s impossible to appreciate the high ones… [I’m] much happier and healthier than I’ve probably ever been.”

His film Neighbors opens in theaters on May 9.

[Image Credit: Universal]

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