Ben Affleck in Rehab

Oscar winner checks himself in for alcohol abuse; says he's looking forward to a fuller life without booze

By Marcus Errico Aug 03, 2001 8:45 PMTags
Ben Affleck is the latest high-powered celeb with sobriety problems.

The Oscar winner and Hollywood scenester has entered the Malibu-based Promises--the same facility where Paula Poundstone is a current patient--for treatment for alcohol abuse, his publicist announced Friday.

Affleck, who turns 29 on August 15, voluntarily checked himself into the facility Tuesday.

"Ben is a self-aware and smart man who has decided that a fuller life awaits him without alcohol," his publicist, David Pollick, said in a statement Friday. "He has chosen to seek out professional assistance and is committed to traveling a healthier road with the support of his family, friends and fans."

No further details were disclosed.

Affleck is no stranger to alcoholism. He has blamed the breakup of his parents on his dad Tim's battles with booze. Now sober, Tim Affleck works at a California-based rehab center and once even tried to counsel Robert Downey Jr.

The younger Affleck, who starred as a flyboy in the wannabe blockbuster Pearl Harbor and played a recovering alcoholic in Bounce, shared a Best Original Screenplay Oscar with longtime buddy Matt Damon for Good Will Hunting. He's one of the costars in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, which hits theaters August 24.

His other credits include Shakespeare in Love, Forces of Nature, Dogma, Armageddon, Chasing Amy and Dazed and Confused.

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