Shiala Mahmood
Terminator 2 star Edward Furlong has revealed he is four years sober after battling with an addiction to methamphetamines.
The actor, who shot to fame as a child star and is well known for his role as John Connor in Terminator 2, found himself struggling with meth and heroin addiction in his 20s.
Furlong had been arrested multiple times, but it wasn't until his 2016 conviction for being under the influence of drugs that the star decided to get clean, and is now four years sober.
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Speaking to the Daily Mail Furlong shared how his addiction began: "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: "In my 20s, I was partying and wanting to go out every night, but I was so tired and I'd be drunk and want to do more cocaine so I could wake up and drink some more."
After his meth addiction resulted in his teeth rotting, Furlong had his teeth replaced - a decision which has given him more confidence.
He said: “It sounds weird for me to be talking about teeth because I don’t live and breathe the way I look but every time I looked in the mirror, it just bummed me out as a reminder of what I had done for all those years."
Furlong began going to rehab in 2018 and has since remained sober and relaunched his movie career, in a bid to rebuild his life.
The actor recently wrapped up filming on Texas with Brad Keller, the director and producer of the 1991 thriller JFK.
Furlong has detailed how he enjoys going to work now that he is sober. He said: "I didn't feel hungover when I went to work.
"There's other sober people at work which is weird because if you're not sober, you're not hanging out with the other sober people. It was cool. I really enjoyed it and I feel like I can be more in the moment. I love to work. We'll see what happens."
The 44-year old actor was just 13 when he was selected by director James Cameron to play the role of John Connor in Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
Despite his rise to stardom, Furlong found himself struggling with managing money and slowly began to start using drugs.
"When I was younger, I didn't have too many people looking out for me and I was left to run wild. I didn't know how to manage my money. If I was older, I wouldn't have made so many bad decisions," he said.
Furlong first started using marijuana and magic mushrooms before moving onto cocaine and heroin when he was in his 20s.
He added: "I was never a normal teenager. I had a very un-normal life. I was almost destined for [drug addiction]. In a weird way, I never really felt like I fit in. So, 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."
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