“Terminator 2: Judgment Day” star Edward Furlong says he’s four years sober — and rocking a new set of teeth — following years of drug abuse and run ins with the law.
The former child star, now 44, opened up about his descent into addiction while speaking with the Daily Mail, telling the publication he started using at a young age, at a time when he “didn’t have too many people looking out for me and I was left to run wild.”
He explained that he started with weed, alcohol and shrooms, before he was introduced to cocaine and heroin in his ’20s. “When I was high, I had camaraderie with other people. Just drinking and partying. All of a sudden, I felt like I was with people and I fit in somehow. That’s how it started,” he added.
He said he briefly stopped using heroin after his son with first wife Rachael Bella was born in 2006, but his legal troubles were just getting started. Bella filed for divorce in 2008, before he was accused of exposing his then-6-year-old son to cocaine.
Later, Bella filed a restraining order against him — which he violated — before a string of domestic violence allegations involving ex Monica Keena, one of which landed him in jail for 180 days.
While he had some bigger roles in the late ’90s and early 2000s — including “American History X,” “Detroit Rock City” and “Before and After” — his behavior coincided with a career decline, all while his drug abuse was getting worse.
“I was shooting loads and loads of heroin, meth, smoking DMT all the time. That’s the way I was all day,” he told the Daily Mail. “It’s amazing I’m still alive – there were a couple of close calls. I definitely OD’d but that’s the cycle, you know. Once you get in there, it’s so hard to see a way out. That’s what I’d want people to understand – there is a way out but it’s hard.”
He even revealed a previously unknown arrest in 2016 to the publication, saying he was booked for being under the influence of an illicit substance while attempting to kick his heroin addiction. At the time, he was reportedly ordered to complete six-months in rehab — and went on to spend a year at Wavelengths Recovery in Huntington Beach.
Saying “the bravest thing I’ve ever done” in life is “to not use,” Furlong acknowledges he “f—ed over so many people when I was on drugs.” He added that he has “a wonderful relationship” with his son now and “people definitely like me better sober” overall. “I like how simple my life is these days. I get to wake up and not worry I’m going to go to jail,” he concluded.
These days, Furlong attends a number of fan conventions around the country and recently filmed a new movie. He also got new teeth, replacing the ones he lost to drug abuse — see the Before and After here!
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