AUSTIN POWERS - TROYER ASKS FRIENDS TO HELP HIM STOP DRINKING

TROYER ASKS FRIENDS TO HELP HIM STOP DRINKING

AUSTIN POWERS' MINI-ME, VERNE TROYER, has called in ROBERT DOWNEY JR to help him kick alcoholism once and for all. The pint-sized movie star checked into a Michigan treatment clinic last year (06) after two other rehab stints failed to make him change his boozy ways, but when he picked up a beer while filming on location in Sweden in January (07), Troyer knew he needed a little extra support. And so he's asked pals Downey Jr, a recovering addict, and model MARCUS SCHENKENBERG to help keep him sober. He says, "I would never say I'm cured but I'm happy where I'm at." At the height of his drinking binges, Troyer admits, "I drank my weight in alcohol. I was drinking a lot." He knew it was time to get help when he got drunk while making US reality show THE SURREAL LIFE in 2005 - and used the corner of his bedroom as a toilet. The drunken episode, which was caught on camera, shamed Troyer into getting help.