Christian Slater Talks Addiction, Jail In 'Details' Magazine

Afraid of one day going to jail? No worries! Christian Slater says it ain't that bad.

Slater, the star of films such as "Heathers," "True Romance," and "Interview with the Vampire," has been around show business since he was seven years old. But it's been the last half decade that has truly been a rebirth for him -- Slater, a former bad boy, has been sober for five years.

He sat down with Details Magazine to talk about a number of things, including his new show, "Breaking In," but perhaps most striking is his ease with his past.

"Look, I could spend a lot of time kicking the s**t out of myself for the choices I made," Slater says. "I was dealing with alcoholism and addiction, and there was a lot to take on without much life experience. Addiction is not pretty, and you don't fully understand it unless you're dealing with it head-on.

"That's why when I see other kids struggling, I will sometimes reach out to them--a call or an e-mail."

Included in that group of kids? Lindsay Lohan, who, having just gotten out of another rehab stint, is in the middle of dealing with jewelry theft allegations. His help is paying it forward, he intimates.

"I appreciated the people who reached out to me. It's a brutal position to be in. You feel alone and confused over where your life went and how you got yourself in this situation."

Lohan faces prison time for the alleged theft. Slater spent 59 days in prison in 1998 after being convicted of assaulting his girlfriend and a police officer while inebriated. To him, the prison stint wasn't the worst thing in the world.

"Honestly, [it was] not so bad. Jail was a result of me not taking time for myself," Slater reflects. "So I was forced to take some time for myself. It was necessary for me. When you're going down that path, you either kill yourself or you're forced to take time out."

Slater talks about much more, including his relationship with Winona Rider and his friendship with River Phoenix -- click over to Details to read the rest.

Comments

[Deborah Beck]

10:29 AM on 02/28/2011

Well Christian as I recall you checked into one of higher end jail facilities in South Cal, I had no doubt that you had cable and a few cells to call home!

[mdmccormick]

04:14 AM on 02/21/2011

Keep reaching out, there are many people who need to know they are not alone

[rotorhead1871]

09:40 PM on 02/19/2011

oh!! come over please......we can play drop the soap..........thats how he had all that "fun" in prison.....

[Just a passerby]

07:09 PM on 02/20/2011

Projecting.

[April Pells]

09:11 PM on 02/19/2011

Glad to hear he's doing better.

[butchcliff]

06:29 PM on 02/19/2011

Glad to see him back & sober. Good for him. Always liked him as an actor

[Michael Mouton]

11:07 PM on 02/18/2011

You know what was so bad? "My Own Worst Enemy," terrible show. I presume that is the real reason he served time in prison.

[David Pilkington]

06:21 PM on 02/18/2011

You guys should see Slater starring in "Churchill, the Hollywood Years". Great stuff!

[waldopepper]

06:02 PM on 02/18/2011

So some modest jail time was part of a synergistic whole that helped straighten his life out. If only it was just as effective for all addicts. I wonder is as a society we will ever develop a response that is subtle enough and sophisticated enough to be the solution for all those who struggle with addition.

Jail time won't be helpful for everyone, perhaps not even for the majority. But it would be nice if there were a diagnostic tool to determine who it would benefit before wasting resources and locking people up wholesale, when for some it will do no good and merely waste precious tax dollars that could be of better use elsewhere.

[Dr Confuso]

07:00 AM on 02/21/2011

Thank you Dr. Phil.

[dwill123]

04:55 PM on 02/18/2011

I wonder if Slater would have thought that doing some time in San Quentin (where he would have been past around for a pack of cigarettes) not that bad.

[sb250guy]

07:41 PM on 02/18/2011

Of course not. But then again, NO ONE should have to be 'passed' around for a pack of cigarettes anywhere ever. We are so disgustingly casual in our acceptance of prison brutality. When one goes to prison, they are sentenced to TIME, not brutality. Thet fact that we, as a society, accept it and laugh about it says more about us. We're sick.

[JohnDewey]

01:07 AM on 02/19/2011

Fanned.

[tttony]

01:46 PM on 02/19/2011

Those two cats on your shoulders look like they're trying to make a jailbreak of their own. Anything you'd like to tell us?

[nypapajoe]

04:33 PM on 02/18/2011

How is it that all of these celebrities are sooooo emotionally disturbed? You would think with all that money and fame they would seek therapy!

[waldopepper]

06:03 PM on 02/18/2011

The illness prevents them from seeing as clearly as you do. Graveyards are full of the proof of this.

[aristippe]

03:20 PM on 02/18/2011

The poor man's jack nickelson

[The-JuRK]

02:54 AM on 02/19/2011

He totally ripped off Jack's voice and persona for most of his "career." The problem is: he doesn't have any personality. Or talent. Watch him in THE NAME OF THE ROSE (his debut, I believe), then watch HEATHERS, where he rips off Jack so bad, I thought they should've done a DNA test on him during a Maury Povich show and then run him out of town.

[aristippe]

10:06 PM on 02/19/2011

Early on in his career Slater was never shy about his adoration for Jack.

[Pennsylvanianne]

09:31 AM on 02/20/2011

I've often thought casting directors should put Nicolson and Slater together in a movie, playing father and son. The movie would be a huge draw. It's too bad that dream casting has never happened.

[ColoradoCool]

03:02 PM on 02/18/2011

I've always liked Slater. Glad he's back in the game.

[waldopepper]

06:04 PM on 02/18/2011

Can I flag this comment of a moderator's as abusive? Lets see.

[Skiwee]

06:35 PM on 02/18/2011

Be my guest.

[GeoCns]

01:37 PM on 02/18/2011

What about Broken Arrow!!!!!!!!

[ttopaster]

01:10 PM on 02/18/2011

maybe if he went to real a jail he would be singing a different tune.

[sam adnitt]

02:18 PM on 02/18/2011

Seriously. Does he think he got the 'real jailhouse' experience?? It's more like a time out from yuppie parents. The 30 something yr old factory worker caught w drugs isn't getting 'time for himself'.
I like Slater's work, but this cluelessness to reality is unbelievable.

[drumz]

03:37 PM on 02/18/2011

He wasn't in jail for drugs and you would know that IF YOU READ THE FREAKIN ARTICLE!!!

[EveAngel]

08:08 PM on 02/18/2011

He would be grabbing his butt in pain