Actor Rob Lowe celebrated 31 years of sobriety Monday, and the “Parks and Recreation” alum literally could not be happier about the trajectory his life and career have taken in the absence of drugs and alcohol.
“The only way to stay in recovery is to be honest with yourself on a minute-by-minute basis. No secrets, no double life. And you have to get real,” the former ’80s bad-boy heartthrob told Variety in an exclusive interview about the struggle to balance fame and clean living across more than four decades.
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“The longer you are in recovery the more facile you are in getting honest. It really helps get you where you need to be [as an actor] a lot quicker,” Lowe, 57, told the outlet.
Lowe, whose big- and small-screen credits include everything from “The Outsiders” and “St. Elmo’s Fire” to “The West Wing” and “9-1-1: Lone Star,” shared the milestone on Instagram, thanking “everyone walking this path with me.”
“Nothing can make you get sober except you wanting to do it,” Lowe told Variety, adding, “The threat of losing a marriage, losing a job, incarceration — you name the threat, it will not be enough to do it. It’s got to be in you. The reason that people don’t get sober 100% of the time when they go into programs is that people aren’t ready when they go to use the tools.”