British Hollywood star Tom Holland has revealed he was an alcoholic and that giving up drinking was "the best thing I've ever done". Known for his roles in Spider-Man and the Avengers films, he opened up about his drinking struggles in the latest episode of the On Purpose podcast with Jay Shetty.
After what he calls a "very very boozy Christmas last year", Holland decided to take part in Dry January - an initiative set up by Alcohol Change UK in 2013, where people stop drinking alcohol for the entire month. It was then when Holland realised he may have a drinking problem.
The 27-year-old said: "All I could think about was having a drink … It really scared me. I just was like, 'Wow, maybe I have a little bit of an alcohol thing'."
Holland then went on to comment on Britain's unhelpful drinking culture, saying: "I felt like I couldn't be social, I felt like I couldn't go to the pub and have a lime soda. I couldn't go out for dinner.
"I was really, really struggling. I just sort of said to myself, like, 'Why? Why am I enslaved to this drink? Why am I so obsessed by the idea of having this drink?'"
Now alcohol free for more than seven months, Holland says he is now the "the happiest I've ever been in my life". The Hollywood actor also claims he has seen the benefits of avoiding alcohol in his mood, sleep and mental clarity.
He explained: "Things that would go wrong on set, that would normally set me off, I could take in my stride. I had such better mental clarity.
"I felt healthier, I felt fitter. I'm happy to say it – I was definitely addicted to alcohol. I'm not shying away from that at all."
The Marvel star says he had to distance himself from the English rugby community, "because so much of it is about how much can you drink".
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Holland is now nine months into a year long acting break after filming Apple+ TV series 'The Crowded Room'. The show sees him play a character based on "the campus rapist" Billy Milligan, a US man who claimed to have 24 alternate personalities.
