Anthony Hopkins Celebrates 50 Years of Sobriety Ahead of 88th Birthday

With 2026 approaching, Anthony Hopkins has shared a message to be mindful of drinking too much alcohol while celebrating 50 years of sobriety.

In a new video posted to Instagram, the two-time Oscar winner wished viewers a happy New Year and congratulated them on nearly reaching 2026 before recounting his own experiences with alcohol.

Buy We Did OK, Kid: A Memoir

“My only problem was I had too good a time,” the actor said of his past drinking days. “50 years ago today, I was nearly killed. I drove my car in a drunken blackout. That’s the way it was. I realized at that point that I was having too much fun. It was called alcoholism.”

Hopkins encouraged anyone struggling with similar issues to seek help. “So, anyone out there who’s got a little problem with having too much [alcohol], check it out,” he said. “Because life is much better. So I stopped. Without bragging, I got help, and 50 years ago today, it [was] the end.”

Concluding his message, Hopkins reflected on his upcoming 88th birthday. “Without being a killjoy, I just wish you well,” he said. “Choose life instead of the opposite. Life, life, and more life. I’m also going to be 88 in two days’ time. So maybe I did something right, I don’t know.”

In a recent New York Times interview, Hopkins recalled the specific moment when he hit rock bottom.

“I was drunk and driving my car here in California in a blackout, no clue where I was going, when I realized that I could have killed somebody — or myself, which I didn’t care about — and I realized that I was an alcoholic,” he said. “I came to my senses and said to an ex-agent of mine at this party in Beverly Hills, ‘I need help.’ It was 11 o’clock precisely — I looked at my watch — and this is the spooky part: Some deep powerful thought or voice spoke to me from inside and said: ‘It’s all over. Now you can start living. And it has all been for a purpose, so don’t forget one moment of it.'”

Despite his age, Hopkins remains active as an actor, recently starring in the psychological thriller Locked earlier this year and the 2024 historical drama Those About to Die. He is also set to appear in Guy Ritchie’s upcoming film, Wife & Dog.

Hopkin’s new memoir, We Did OK, Kid, was published this past November.