Skeleton Crew star Nick Frost has spoken about his struggles with addiction in a new interview, talking about his family’s history with alcoholism.
Speaking with The Daily Telegraph, the British actor, known for The Cornetto Trilogy of films with lifelong friend Simon Pegg, recalled how his mother’s drinking problems affected his life. “My mum was an alcoholic so my dad had spent a lot of his life looking after her,” he said. “When my mum died my dad became free and it was like I had my best mate back and was happy again but five years later he got lung cancer. And nine months after that he was gone”.
He continued to say his grief manifested through anger. “I was angry with my mum for taking up so much of his life” he said. “And in between them, I lost my brother and sister and then my other brother died just after my dad died. It became just lots of admin. I didn’t deal with the grief at all. I never thought about how it was affecting me”.
That anger subsided when he encountered his “own problems with addiction.” He said: “It took until my forties to really understand that (my parents) were just fallible people… I used to think about my mum, ‘Why would you choose alcohol and death over your own child?’ I got to a point in my own life when I knew exactly how you could do that. That’s how I found a lot of forgiveness”.
His friend and frequent collaborator, Simon Pegg, also spoke of his battles with drinking. For Frost, rehabilitation was about finding happiness. “I knew I had to stop trying to kill myself and live the rest of my life” he recalled. “And to be happy. I’d never realised I could be happy before. I wanted to make a point of not dying”.
That happiness has also come with some professional satisfaction. “This past year is the first I’ve really felt established. In November 2023 Simon and I hosted a talk when my book came out (titled A Slice Of Fried Gold) at the Royal Festival Hall with 1,800 people” he said. “I came off stage and patted myself on the back. I’d never really allowed myself that before”.
Frost can be seen next in horror comedy Get Away, on Sky Cinema from January 10. Skeleton Crew’s final episode will be available on Disney+ on January 17. Recently, TV On The Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe was announced as a cast member of the show, saying he’s “been about it since ‘82”.