Dennis Quaid Opens Up About Cocaine Past

Actor Dennis Quaid admits his "biggest mistake" was his addiction to cocaine and candidly writes about his struggle in a Newsweek article.

Quaid, who stars in this month's 'Soul Surfer,' reveals he was introduced to the drug when he moved from Houston to LA in 1974. "It was very casual at first," he says of his drug use. "That's what people were doing when they were at parties. Cocaine was even in the budgets of movies, thinly disguised."

"It was supplied, basically, on movie sets because everyone was doing it," he continues. "People would make deals. Instead of having a cocktail, you'd have a line."

Quaid says his drug use contributed to his inability to handle his new fame and he essentially turned into a different person.

"I was doing my best imitation of an asshole there for a little while, trying to pretend everything was OK," he reveals. "Meanwhile my life was falling apart, and I noticed it myself, but I was hoping everyone else didn't."

He adds that the addiction began taking over his life, even though he desperately tried to get everything under control.

"I'd wake up, snort a line, and swear I wasn't going to do it again that day. But then 4 o'clock rolled around, and I'd be right back down the same road like a little squirrel on one of those treadmills," he writes.

After his band, the Eclectics, broke up after a "crazy" show, Quaid realized it was time to make a change.

"I had one of those white-light experiences that night where I kind of realized I was going to be dead in five years if I didn't change my ways. The next day I was in rehab," he writes.

Although he was fueled by drugs in the '80s, Quaid admits his recovery shaped him into who he is today.

"That time in my life -- those years in the '90s recovering -- actually chiseled me into a person. It gave me the resolve and a resilience to persevere in life. If I hadn't gone through that period, I don't know if I'd still be acting. In the end, it taught me humility. I really learned to appreciate what I have in this life."

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