Filmsane

When you look at Simon Pegg, you don’t instantly think about a man that could be suffering from depression. He’s one of the most talented and respected actors in the world. He’s happily married, he’s got an incredible career starring in 2 franchises (Mission Impossible and Star Trek). He’s rich and famous and let’s not forget he’s loved both from his peers and his fans.

However, in his latest interview for the Guardian, Pegg admitted that he battled depression and subsequent alcoholism for years now, which led to him being admitted in a rehab facility. In the interview, Pegg admits that he’s always had depression, bit he realized that it began to unravel when he was shooting Mission Impossible 3 in 2006.

“When I watch that film back, I can see where I was then, which was fairly lost, and unhappy, and an alcoholic,” he says. Of course, fans wouldn’t really be able to notice. Pegg had gotten good at keeping his addiction a secret. “Because I hid it,” he says. “I’m an actor, so I acted … all the fucking time.”

The actor spoke of his struggles to keep his name off the tabloids during his stints in rehab, and how reporters would call and pretend that they’re members of his family in order to confess that he’s in rehab. He reportedly spent a great deal of money to protect his privacy while he was in rehab, and i can’t blame him to be honest. There is still a certain amount of stigma surrounding rehabilitation centers and addiction in general.

“They were sinking so low as to phoning up where I was and pretending to be my mother to get the story,” he says. “I’m not ashamed of what happened. And I think if anyone finds any relationship to it, then it might motivate them to get well. But I am not proud of it either – I don’t think it’s cool, like I was Mr. Rock’n’roll, blackout and all that shit. It wasn’t, it was just terrible.” continued Simon.

But as he points out, he began to see the first results, while he was filming “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol” in 2011. You can clearly see the changes in his appearance and the return of his cheeks (that were gone before), and it was a clear sign that the rehab and the subsequent depression treatment worked.

But he’s right about it you know. How depression and alcoholism come hand in hand and they’re often BBF’s. I was also suffering from depression for the better part of my 20’s and before i sought professional help, i would often self-medicate with copious amounts of alcohol. Vodka was my drug of choice, and it would take my shrink several sessions to see the co-relation between the 2 things.

Now, i’m not rich movie star, so i handled my sobriety on my own (without the need of a rehab), but I’ve also talked to many former alcoholics (and other addicts) that share the same story. It was a coping mechanism. A great way to numb the pain and to forget all the crap that you needed to be forgotten. I’m glad that Simon came clean and said it. He’s right. There’s no shame in it. We’re all humans and very flawed humans of that. But he’s also right. Jut like in my case, the alcoholism came after the depression. And sobriety came after the admittance that you have a problem.

Stay Strong Simon!

Tom Cruise and Simon Pegg team up next for “Mission: Impossible — Fallout,” which hits theaters on July 27.