Sir Anthony Hopkins celebrates 45 years sober after nearly 'drinking myself to death'

Watch: Anthony Hopkins reflects on 45 years of sobriety

Sir Anthony Hopkins has marked 45 years of sobriety in a heart-felt message to fans, admitting that was on the road to drinking himself to death.

The 82-year-old Oscar-winner delivered a message of support on Twitter to those also battling alcoholism.

“45 years ago today, I had a wake-up call,” he said. “I was heading for a disaster, I was drinking myself to death.

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“I’m not preachy but I got a message, a little thought that said, ‘Do you want to live or die?’ And I said, ‘I want to live’ and suddenly the relief came. And my life has been amazing.

“I have my off days and sometimes little bits of doubt and all that but all in all I say, hang in there. Today is the tomorrow you were so worried about yesterday.

He added: “You young people, don’t give up, just keep in there, just keep fighting. Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid. That sustained me through my life.

“Happy New Year – this is going to be the best year.”

Hopkins quit drinking after Christmas in 1975. Speaking to Piers Morgan in 2011, he said: “I was here in New York at the time and I was in desperate straights. I was drinking - couldn't stop. Couldn't stop.

“And I was - it was like being possessed by a demon, an addiction, and I couldn't stop. And millions of people around like that. I could not stop.

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“There's no way I could get it, and I suddenly, in Los Angeles, I made that quantum leap when I asked for help. I just found something and a woman talked to me and she said, just trust in God. And I said, well, why not? And was such a quantum leap from this to that.”

Just last year, in a discussion with his Meet Joe Black co-star Brad Pitt for Interview magazine, he said: “I look at it, and I think, 'What a great blessing that was, because it was painful'.

“I did some bad things. But it was all for a reason, in a way. And it’s strange to look back and think, 'God, I did all those things?' But it's like there's an inner voice that says, 'It's over. Done. Move on.'”

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