Joe Pantoliano confesses that his mental health struggles with clinical depression nearly “destroyed” his life and wrecked his marriage.
The “Sopranos” star, who suffered with depression for at least 10 years before his diagnosis, said he would self-medicate with his “seven deadly symptoms.”
“Alcohol, what was available, women, you know, risky behavior, act first and then ask questions second,” he explained, listing a few to Page Six at the off-Broadway opening of “Ginger Twinsies” Thursday evening.
“The Matrix” star admitted that he was “a mess for a long time,” which he traces back to a dysfunctional childhood with his mother, who also suffered from mental health issues.
Pantoliano added that he nearly ended up losing his family during his dark days.
“My wife [Nancy Sheppard] and my kids were ready to throw me out,” he said. “The only people who were happy to see me weren’t people. They were my dogs.”
“The Goonies” star, 73, added he believes his pooches “saved my life because it was the only spark that was left in me.
“I was like Tinkerbell and the light was dying.”
Pantoliano, who was diagnosed with clinical depression in 2007 and has since written two books about his mental health issues, founded an organization in 2009 called, No Kidding, Me Too!” which aims to remove the stigma surrounding mental health.
“We’ve done such a great job,” he enthused. “Our mission for ‘No Kidding, Me Too!’ was to make the discussion of mental disease cool and trendy.
“And we’ve succeeded,” he gleefully noted. “You can’t get them to shut up now!”
Pantoliano recently made headlines for revealing that he was contemplating a move to Portugal due to the Trump administration.
“I’m so uncomfortable with the nature of what’s happening in our country, and I just want to run for the hills,” he told Page Six.
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