Charlie Sheen used alcohol to hide his stutter
Charlie Sheen has confessed he used alcohol to hide his stutter because booze gave him the "freedom of speech" after a lifelong struggle with the affliction.
Charlie Sheen used alcohol to hide his stutter.
The former Two And A Half Men star spent years dealing with addiction issues and he's now confessed he became dependent on alcohol for a long time because it helped ease his speech impediment. Charlie kept his stutter secret for years, but opened up about it in his new memoir The Book of Sheen, writing: "Not being able to say certain words or sounds was one of the main reasons I learned to drink."
He was asked about the stutter during an appearance on Good Morning America this week and Charlie said: "Drinking just ... it softened the edges.
"It gave me just freedom of speech."
During the interview, Charlie admitted he didn't talk openly about his stutter until he landed a role on sitcom Spin City. The actor revealed he worried the script would be very difficult for him so he asked for help.
Charlie explained: "When I got the first script for Spin and I was going through it, I was like: 'Oh, that's a problem. That's gonna be a problem. I can't say that'.
"So yeah, when in doubt, just be human enough to be vulnerable, and to know that it's okay to ask for help."
Charlie's struggle with booze and drugs continued over the years but during the interview, he insisted he's now been clean and sober since 2017.
The actor reveals he feels lucky to be alive and hopes he's got a bright future ahead of hi.
He said: "This story should've ended 100 times 20 years ago, and it didn't. And it didn't. So whatever happens next might be just where some of the real gold has been hidden, you know?"
As well telling his story in his new book, Charlie is also baring all in a new Netflix documentary called AKA Charlie Sheen which features interviews with his family and friends and the actor - whose dad is actor Martin Sheen - admitted some of his loved ones were "concerned" about the impact of project.
He told E! News: "As any parents would be, there was initial concern. And not for how it would be received, but how it might affect me, and was I really ready to cannonball into this deep end."
However, the 60-year-old actor - who has daughter Cassandra, 40, with ex Paula Profit, daughters Sami, 21, and Lola, 20, with ex Denise Richards, and 16-year-old twin sons Bob and Max with former flame Brooke Mueller — was adamant he wanted to take back "control".
He explained: “I told them if I don't [do it], then I'm never going to control the narrative, or at least influence it or apply some truth on top of the fiction.
"But once they felt that I was confident that this was the right thing to do and the right time to do it, they were completely supportive."
