Wes Bentley has thanked Robert Downey Jr. for saving him from drug addiction. The ‘Yellowstone’ actor said that watching Robert Downey Jr. publicly open up about his past drug use inspired him to seek help for a crippling heroin addiction.
Wes told the New York Post newspaper’s Page Six column: “I was in the deepest throes of my addiction and in the worst place and at death’s door, I guess, or at risk of it and I saw him be so bold and brave and open and it saved me.
Bentley — who’s been sober since 2009 — added, “So I thought if I do that too, I can maybe pass that on to somebody else.”
Bentley’s drug addiction began almost immediately after starring in the critically acclaimed 1999 film “American Beauty.”
“I never had money before,” the actor, 44, told us. “So, there was a lot of combination of things I wasn’t prepared for.
“I also knew as an actor that I wasn’t going to be really ready to do good roles until in my 30s and 40s. So, I didn’t really want it to happen like that too early. I tried to go with it and hang with it, but I wasn’t ready.”
In 2008, Bentley was arrested and pleaded guilty to heroin possession. He was mandated to 12-step programs but relapsed. Finally, in 2009, he met a guy who would help him kick his drug addiction for good.
