He was beaten with a stick, a shoe, an ashtray, a phone—anything his mother could give him. By age 11, he was already taking his mother’s “nerve pills,” and by 14, he’d tried every drug imaginable. Despite this, he’s still one of Hollywood’s most prominent actors, with films that have grossed over $10.8 billion worldwide

“She fell into a deep depression and attempted suicide by swallowing ‘a lot of pills.’ She survived, but she was never the same. She lived on the couch and weighed about 70 pounds.”

Unfortunately, his mother’s drug addiction also became a gateway to the young star’s career. The substance abuse he struggled with for most of his life began at a young age. He claims he started taking his mother’s “nerve pills” at age 11, started smoking at 12, and by 14, had tried “every kind of drug there was.”

His mother died in 2016. In retrospect, the actor said he is grateful for the way she raised him — but not in the way you might expect.

“I’m grateful to her for that,” he continued. “She taught me how not to raise children. Just do the exact opposite of what she did.”