Behind the Velvet Curtain: Hollywood’s Substance Epidemic

Marilyn Monroe, River Phoenix, and Heath Ledger are just a few of America’s beloved actors and actresses who lost their lives to Hollywood's favorite pastime: substances. “Drug Culture” has overtaken the movie industry, with prominent actors, producers, and directors alike falling into substance abuse. But why is Hollywood so heavily affected? In this article, we’ll take 

a look at different moviemakers whose careers were significantly altered by drugs or alcohol.

Martin Scorsese, one of the most commercially successful directors of all time, is well-known for his use of a multitude of drugs including cocaine, barbiturates, and alcohol. After his second film, Raging Bull, saw massive success, he soon became one of the most respected directors of the new Hollywood era. With his newfound prosperity, Scorsese fell down the rabbit hole of drug use, dropping to 109 pounds and overdosing multiple times. After multiple stints in rehab, Scorsese soon recovered from his addiction and has been sober since 1983. Scorsese credits both his faith and support from his family to his recovery.

Robert Downey Jr.—son of the award-winning screenwriter and SNL legend Robert Downey Sr.—grew up in a household full of drugs. He was first given marijuana by his father at the age of six, and continued to experiment with substances as he started acting in his early teens and twenties. In 1996, Downey Jr. was caught driving under the influence and possession of cocaine, crack cocaine, and heroin. After serving almost a year in prison and being dropped from all of his acting roles, Downey committed to a rigorous rehab program that led to his acting comeback in 2003. He then landed roles in The Singing Detective, Tropic Thunder, and The Iron Man. After the latter’s massive success, Downey Jr. was launched into superstardom, starring in the entire Avengers franchise. At 58 years old, Downey Jr. has had one of the most commercially successful acting careers of all time.

While actors have many different pressures that can cause drug abuse, their publicly documented struggles can affect fans as well. A University of Pittsburgh study discovered that fans of a celebrity known to abuse substances are more likely to experiment with similar substances. 

“Even if a celebrity I like did drugs, I wouldn’t want to,” Dom Lignell, 9, explained. 

With drugs being more prevalent and easy to acquire, more and more people are falling into substances, especially among creatives like those in Hollywood. Despite these roadblocks, Scorsese and Downey Jr. are living proof that actors can escape the substances pushed onto them by the industry.