SIR Anthony Hopkins turned to religion after battling alcohol addiction in the 1970s.
The Silence of the Lambs actor reveals "a crisis" made him hit the bottle and he "couldn't stop" drinking as a result.
Hopkins admits he went through a low period of his life while he was boozing and subsequently sought religious help.
He tells Piers Morgan Tonight, "I used to be an atheist. I was an agnostic for many years. (I had) a crisis in my life, some 35 years ago, and I was hell bent on destruction. And I just asked for a little bit of help, and suddenly, pow. It was just like, bingo. I was here in New York at the time and I was in desperate straights. I was drinking - couldn't stop. It was like being possessed by a demon, an addiction, and I couldn't stop.
"Suddenly, in Los Angeles, I made that quantum leap when I asked for help. I just found something and a woman talked to me and she said, 'Just trust in God.' And I said, 'Well, why not?' And (it) was such a quantum leap from this to that. I think because I asked for help, which is a form of prayer. Because you - if the ego - if I say, 'Well, I can do it on my own. I can do anything on my own. I can conquer anything.' That's nonsense. I can't conquer anything."
After speaking to a priest, Hopkins changed his outlook - and he's sure that has helped him focus on his life.
He says, "I knew a psychiatrist in London who was a priest and I went to him to - I'm looking for guidance once, not therapy, and he said, 'Why do you want to become a Catholic?' I said, 'I just need a centre in my life.' He said, 'Well, think very carefully before you do that. It's a big deal.'
"He said what is the problem? I said, 'I just feel a bit lost.' He said, 'Well, join the human race.' And he told me about his own loss of faith, and not being a theologian myself, I thought - I said, 'What's it like?' He said, 'It's hell. But you'll find your way back or you destroy yourself.'"
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