Steve Coogan's wild past makes him 'more interesting'
Steve Coogan has no regrets over his wild lifestyle - insisting people who have "partied" are "more interesting".
Steve Coogan's wild party lifestyle made him "more interesting".
The 59-year-old actor previously battled issues with alcohol and drugs, but he's put it all behind him now and he's able to look back on his past with no regrets because it was all part of his life experience.
He told the Telegraph newspaper: "I think the most interesting people are people who partied once, rather than people who’ve never partied.
"I don’t regret it at all. There’s levels of responsibility. I regret some things if you get into the nitty-gritty, but I don’t particularly want to.
"The Dylan Thomas myth that you have to be self-destructive to be creative is nonsense. The complexity of that conflict in the human heart between being hedonistic and selfish and instant gratification, versus contemplative delayed gratification, that’s the stuff of life.
"That conflict is the stuff of comedy: wanting to do the right thing but doing the wrong thing."
Coogan went on to reveal he is now "less bothered" as he gets older and actively avoids social media because he doesn't want to read criticism - and he wants to be "happy" instead of a "grumpy old man".
He added: "As you get older, you’re less bothered by what people think of you. I don’t do social media. I don’t need to know if someone’s s******* me off.
"I don’t want to be a grumpy old man. You get more comfortable in your own skin. Your priorities change. And you do get happier."
Coogan previously opened up about his battle with addiction in his book 'Easily Distracted' - admitting he will always be a "recovering addict".
He wrote: "I did a spell in rehab ... and I hated the idea that I was there because of my childhood, or some incident of bullying at school. I was there because of my own selfishness.
"I had to accept personal responsibility. I wanted to say: 'I don’t take cocaine because I feel terrible about myself, I take it because I feel fucking great about myself and I deserve a reward for working so hard.'
"At the same time, I wanted to stop. Wanting and then needing some sort of constant stimulus becomes debilitating. I don’t take drugs or drink any more, but I am in no denial about my past: I will always be a recovering addict."
