Jason Isaacs marks 28 years sober: 'I was going to die'

Jason Isaacs has marked 28 years of sobriety with a candid Instagram video, saying he had no doubt that drugs would kill him before he finally got clean. 

The Harry Potter and White Lotus actor, 63, posted the message on Tuesday. In it, he recalled waking up 28 years ago after the first night in decades spent without drugs or drink.

Isaacs said he has lived drug and drink free ever since, and stressed that he wasn’t sharing his story to celebrate himself. Instead, he hoped it might reach anyone who feels trapped and believes there is no way to change their life.

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Describing his state of mind before getting sober, he said there was “no question I was going to die” with drugs in him or on him. 

He was living without hope, he explained, whereas today he has a life with hope. It isn’t all bliss, he added, but he’s grateful simply to be alive and part of life.

The actor said he eventually gave up trying to control things, surrendered and asked for help, crediting the Twelve Step programme of Alcoholics Anonymous with changing his life. 

He was keen to point out there are many routes to recovery, but his message to anyone in a dire situation was simple: “just ask”.

Isaacs, best known as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, has spoken openly about his addiction before. 

He told The Big Issue in 2020 that he first got drunk at the age of 12, and that by 16 he had moved past alcohol and was starting what he called a “decades-long love affair with drugs”. 

He marked 27 years of sobriety on 5 October last year with a similar message.

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