David Morrissey, the actor best known for roles in The Walking Dead and Sherwood, has revealed that social anxiety contributed to his alcoholism. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, the 61-year-old said he has been sober for 21 years but described his past drinking as a way to cope with 'terrible social anxiety'.
Morrissey, who was born in Liverpool, started drinking after his father died when he was 15. He told presenter Lauren Laverne: 'Drinking first was about anxiety. I’ve had this terrible social anxiety and that helped me get through it.' He added that in adult life, he 'couldn't stop' and was often drinking alone in pubs, which was hard for his ex-wife and those around him.
The actor said he was in a 'terrible state' after his father’s death and experienced depression and anxiety as 'trauma responses'. He left school at 16 to join a theatre company, seeking independence. Morrissey got sober after calling a former colleague who was in Alcoholics Anonymous, whose number he had kept for two years. 'I was in a terrible, terrible state, and I phoned him quite late. He came round my house and just sat with me. And I’ve not drank since that day,' he said.
Morrissey acknowledged that stopping drinking did not end his self-destructive behaviour, but his career 'rescued' him. He said acting makes him 'feel safe', contrasting with his personal life where he is less confident and often looks for an 'exit strategy'. He added: 'For a long time I was really telling myself I wasn’t enough, and that added to the alcoholism.'
