Wes Bentley credits Robert Downey Jr.’s openness about his drug addiction with helping the Yellowstone actor get clean and sober himself.
Wes, 44, who plays the villain Jamie Dutton on the popular neo-western, told Page Six about his efforts to kick his life-threatening addiction during the Yellowstone season five premiere Thursday in New York City.
“I was in the deepest reaches of my addiction and at the worst place and on the cusp of death I guess, or in danger and I saw him so brave and open and it saved me,” he explained.
Clean and sober: Wes Bentley credits Robert Downey, Jr.’s openness about his drug addiction with helping the Yellowstone actor get clean and sober himself, according to Page Six
Robert, 57, has been arrested multiple times for drug offenses and has been sentenced to behind bars at a time when he was battling his addiction.
At a court hearing in 1999, the Iron Man actor described his illness to a judge, saying, ‘It’s like I have a shotgun in my mouth and my finger on the trigger, and I like the taste of the gunmetal.’
The Marvel hero has been clean since 2003 and Wes, who has been sober since 2009, said he wants to follow Robert’s example. “So I thought, if I do that too, maybe I can pass that on to someone else.”
Villain: Wes, 44, plays the villain Jamie Dutton in Yellowstone
Robert, 57, was behind bars after being arrested on drug-related charges. He once described his addiction to a judge: “It’s like I have a shotgun in my mouth and I have my finger on the trigger and I like the taste of the gunmetal” (pictured in Malibu in July 1996).
Wes started taking it after starring in the Oscar-winning film American Beauty.
“I’ve never had any money,” he explained, “so there were a lot of combinations of things I wasn’t prepared for.”
“As an actor, I also knew that I wouldn’t be really ready to play good roles until I was in my 30s and 40s. So I didn’t want it to happen so early. I tried to go with him and hang with him, but I wasn’t ready.’
Money and fame: Wes said he started using after starring in the Oscar-winning American Beauty, explaining, “I’ve never had money before, so there were a lot of combinations of things that I wasn’t prepared for was”; seen with Thora Birch and Mena Suvari on the set of American Beauty
The Hunger Games star admitted in a 2010 New York Times article that he spent hours looking for drugs and using the money he made from sporadic roles between 2002 and 2009 to support his addiction.
A 2008 arrest and guilty plea to heroin possession led to a court-ordered 12-step program, but the actor soon relapsed.
It didn’t hit rock bottom until 2009.
Rock bottom: The ‘Hunger Games’ actor said he hit rock bottom in 2009 and finally admitted he was addicted and needed help. Wes entered rehab and began attending 12-step meetings, a practice he continues to this day; Seen Thursday in NYC
“I came back to LA for something and I drank a whole bottle of scotch and I was like, ‘I’m going to die in this hotel room with this bottle of scotch,'” he confessed.
He later said to a friend, “I’m a drug addict and an alcoholic and I need help. I need help or I’ll die,” and soon entered rehab and began attending 12-step meetings, a practice he continues to this day.
“The 12-step meetings really helped me a lot. I had already believed in God, so that helps me – the higher power thing.”
Sobriety: Robert Downey, Jr. has been clean since 2003 (pictured in Los Angeles on November 4, 2022)