Now much appreciated actor Paul Bettany had been for some time addicted to cocaine. He became a drug addict as he tried to get over some family problems such as coping with his younger brother's death and his parents' divorce.


The Master and Commander star first encountered hardship and emotional torment in his life as his eight-year-old brother Michael died after falling out of a tree onto concrete when Bettany was 16. Some years later his parents have separated.

Bettany, now 34, admits his lifestyle span out of control for almost ten years before he could put himself back together. Therapy finally got him back on track.

Paul Bettany said: "I was just so shattered by what happened. I reckon it took me something like 10 years to get over it. I felt this guilt about still being alive after Matthew died. But, through therapy, I stopped doing all the bad stuff. It was slowly destroying me. I had this need to punish myself. I stopped doing drugs when I realized I couldn't function without them. And coincidentally that's when I started working."

Now the actor is rumored to be in the cards for a very important villain part in 2008's Batman movie. He is supposed to play the Joker.