Insisting he's not as clean as his TV alter-ego Finn Hudson, the 'Glee' star admits he used to be 'out of control' and has tasted rehab for his serious drug problem.
- Jun 24, 2011
AceShowbiz - Cory Monteith was anything but a clean-cut Finn Hudson when he was just a teenager. The "Glee" star admitted that he's lucky "on so many counts" and "to be alive" as he revealed about his troubled past, which included a serious drug problem and a stint in rehab, in a revealing interview with Parade magazine.
The TV actor, whose parents divorced when he was 7, said he was skipping school to get drunk and smoke marijuana by the time he was 13. He dropped out of high school at 16 after attending about 12 different schools, including alternative programs for troubled teens. Looking back to his teenage years, the 29-year-old admitted, "I was out of control."
About his drug use, the "Monte Carlo" actor spilled, "Anything and everything, as much as possible. I had a serious problem." In fact, his drug problem was serious enough to lead his mother and some friends staged an intervention when he was 19. "That's when I first went to rehab," he shared. "I did the stint but then went back to doing exactly what I left off doing."
His turnaround came after he "stole a significant amount of money from a family member". He recalled, "I knew I was going to get caught, but I was so desperate I didn't care. It was a cry for help. I was confronted and I said, 'Yeah, it was me.' It was the first honorable, truthful thing that had come out of my mouth in years."
His relative's ultimatum to get clean or face robbery charges made him evaluated his life. "I was done fighting myself," he explained. "I finally said, 'I'm gonna start looking at my life and figure out why I'm doing this.' " He went on to move in with a family friend, quit drugs and work as a roofer in addition to taking acting classes.
By unveiling his troubled past, Cory hopes to set a positive example for his fans. "I don't want kids to think it's okay to drop out of school and get high, and they'll be famous actors, too," he explained. "But for those people who might give up: Get real about what you want and go after it."
