Gerard Butler Leaving Rehab After Three-Week Stay
Scottish actor Gerard Butler is reportedly leaving the Betty Ford Center after a three-week stay for overusing painkillers.
Butler began using the painkillers after months of intense training for his role in "300," in which he played lead character King Leonidas. Many critics described this role as a breakthrough for the young actor, and he has since starred in less physically demanding roles.
After "300," Butler struggled with pain and adjusting to life without the physical needs of film. "When you finish filming, your whole routine changes and suddenly you don't have to do what you did anymore. It's kind of weird."
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"You feel a little lost. You don't have to hold yourself the same way physically. There was definitely a period of adjustment and physical pain because I stopped training. That was the worst thing I could have done," he told reporters.
Butler had a close call while surfing last year, which some say contributed to his use of painkillers. "I was actually in the ambulance and wanted to go back, which was a little crazy, but it's pretty addictive. This was maybe one of the few times that the reports were not exaggerated. It was a pretty close call. [The waves] just took me, and I couldn't get up," he told Graham Norton.
Sources tell TMZ that Butler began to realize he "was relying too much on prescription drugs and decided to head off a full-blown addiction" by entering Betty Ford. He has spent three weeks in treatment and plans to leave today.
He has battled addiction before, giving up alcohol altogether after admitting: "I used to drink until I couldn't remember anything. I was just mad for it and on a death wish. It was madness. One or two drinks were never enough for me. I was a foot-on-the-floor-all-the-way drinker, so it had to go. I don't miss it."
