London:
Scottish actor Gerard Butler has said he would be dead right now if acting hadn't saved him from his debauched life of alcohol and partying.
The Machine Gun Preacher star, who is now a teetotal,was a troublemaker in his early twenties and says the challenges of acting helped him grow up after he was fired from his law training scheme, Femalefirst reported.
"I'd gone from a 16-year-old who couldn't wait to grasp life to a 22-year-old who didn't care if he died in his sleep. "I know what it's like to feel crazy, lost, aggressive, fearful and to be screaming out at the world that you have no use or no purpose. If I hadn't found acting, it seems very easy to say that I'd be dead but yes I'd be dead. But to find that I could act, make a living out of it and challenge myself, tell stories, affect people," he said.
Butler, 42, admitted he is looking forward to the day when he has more in his life than just work.
"Work's great, but I want to get to that stage where I'm happiest when I'm not working so that I can work less. In the last few months I've been riding a Harley through the southern states, learning to fly helicopters. I've been playing football and learning to surf," he added.
The Machine Gun Preacher star, who is now a teetotal,was a troublemaker in his early twenties and says the challenges of acting helped him grow up after he was fired from his law training scheme, Femalefirst reported.
"I'd gone from a 16-year-old who couldn't wait to grasp life to a 22-year-old who didn't care if he died in his sleep. "I know what it's like to feel crazy, lost, aggressive, fearful and to be screaming out at the world that you have no use or no purpose. If I hadn't found acting, it seems very easy to say that I'd be dead but yes I'd be dead. But to find that I could act, make a living out of it and challenge myself, tell stories, affect people," he said.
Butler, 42, admitted he is looking forward to the day when he has more in his life than just work.
"Work's great, but I want to get to that stage where I'm happiest when I'm not working so that I can work less. In the last few months I've been riding a Harley through the southern states, learning to fly helicopters. I've been playing football and learning to surf," he added.
