In an unexpected but moving celebration of his half-century of sobriety, actor Anthony Hopkins spoke like never before about the night that marked a turning point in his history of alcoholism. What did I say? Here's the story.

Through an Instagram post, the star of films like "The Elephant Man" and "A Bridge Too Far" recalled the details of the accident he was involved in 50 years ago, in which he almost lost his life.

"50 years ago today, I died almost driving my car in an alcohol-induced blackout. That's how things were. But I realized at that moment that I was having too much fun. That's called alcoholism," the actor begins his post.

In the clip shared from his official profile, the Hollywood star states that his life took a 180-degree turn when he cut alcohol out of his life: "Life is so much better," he declared.

He also offered words of encouragement to those going through a similar situation to the one he faced 50 years ago: "I wish you all to choose life instead of the opposite. Life, life... life," he emphasized to conclude his post. video, but not before wishing a happy new year to his digital community, made up of just over six million followers.

This is not the first time Anthony Hopkins has broken his silence about his battle with alcohol. It is in the pages of his book “We Did Okay, Kid” that he reveals the origin of his relationship with this vice, attributing it to his childhood and adolescence marked by physical and verbal abuse and social exclusion. According to his writing, the breaking point in his addiction occurred on December 29, 1975, when, in a state of severe intoxication, he drove from Arizona to Beverly Hills and lost his memory along the way. “I found out when I went to my agent and said, 'Someone stole my car.' He replied, 'It wasn't stolen. We found you on the highway. You'd be in jail now if we hadn't picked you up.' “I could have killed someone, even an entire family,” he elaborated in his memoir. The big decision to leave alcohol behind came at that moment. “I heard a voice ask me, 'Do you want to live or die?' I answered,'I want to live.' The desire to drink disappeared. That was at 11 am,” he said.