It might be difficult to believe, but the lives of some of the most loved movie stars in Hollywood are fraught with sad stories that could easily eclipse any of the sad movies they star in. When the film is over and the audience has departed, these performers remain to deal with the aftermath of their lives and the toll their past has taken on them. The pictures we have of them on our walls are not even close to accurate depictions of their private lives. Here’s a list of some very talented actors and actresses who were or are very sad in real life.
Kelsey Grammer
Recognized for his lead part in Frasier, Kelsey Grammer is a consummate performer who makes people laugh with his singular brand of deadpan humor. What many do not realize, however, is that the life of this comedian is about as far from a laughing matter as one could imagine. Compelled to cohabit with his grandparents post his parents’ marital split, Kelsey Grammer’s life plummeted when his grandfather passed away when he was 12. The following year, a home invasion resulted in the murder of his father. The worst part of Grammer’s life would undoubtedly happen in 1975 when his 18-year-old sister was abducted and raped by four men. To make matters worse, Grammer’s sister managed to escape from her captors, only to die alone moments later.
In 2014, he talked to the final remaining cohort of the group that murdered his sister. In this conversation, he told the man that he was sorry for what had happened to him—that is, for what kind of life he had lived—but he couldn’t forgive him for killing his sister. He also mentioned that it wasn’t okay for the man to expect or ask for his endorsement, because giving that kind of permission would mean putting the life of his sister on a scale and saying that it wasn’t worth what he had claimed her life was worth.
Robert Downey Jr.
Another child actor whose life was sadly derailed by Hollywood’s life of excess and substance abuse, Robert Downey Jr. bears the weight of one of the darkest childhoods imaginable for any child born into this country. His relationship with narcotics started at the tender age of six. Robert Downey Sr., an unstable cinematic artist, would present a marijuana cigarette to his son—the instance that the performer marks as the moment when he lost his path and hitched himself to a wagon full of vices. Downey Jr. has achieved sobriety since 2003, but he amassed a long mountaintop of vices before he spent a considerable and successful amount of time in a detox clinic.
Drew Barrymore
Never easy, being a child star. The job has a reputation for tarnishing whoever touches it, and Drew Barrymore was no exception. At only seven years of age, Barrymore co-starred in E.T. The Extraterrestrial and would by 11 develop an addiction to alcohol. A few years after that, came cocaine, and with it a life of partying and substance abuse that almost culminated in her death when she was admitted to a mental institution at the age of 14. Barrymore came from a long line of actors and performers and had big shoes to fill. But she managed to beat her addictions and came back to a life that landed her in the ranks of one of the most revered drama actresses in Hollywood.
Jack Nicholson
It would be difficult to think of Jack Nicholson’s life as a tragedy. And compared to some of the other lives we recount in this list, his is hardly tragic. But his life has more plot twists than a lot of so-called tell-all biographies. And those twists are the stuff of stories you might hear someone tell around a campfire on a dark, moonless night. Born in 1937, the actor spent most of his life thinking that the woman who was his sister was his mother. A showgirl, he found out long after both his mothers were dead that his grandfather had actually raised him as a son to protect the honor of their 17-year-old daughter, who had fallen in love with a married man. Nicholson apparently holds no ill will toward biological mother for this charade, and frankly, who could, given the reason behind it? It really brings new meaning to ‘You can’t handle the truth!’
Jim Carrey
As tragic as it might seem, several of the funniest comedians have the most sorrowful backstories. Jim Carrey’s life before he was unearthed as one of the most multifaceted funny men of our time is a prime example. He is one of the greatest funnymen ever, and he has a tremendous downer of a tale. When the comedian was only 16, he had to find work to help his family eat. His dad lost his job, and Carrey had to drop out of school to bring home the bacon (and bread and whatever else). He was homeless, living with his family in a van, when he started working as a stand-up comic. Now Jim Carrey is a top Hollywood star, with more money than he could ever have anticipated in his poverty-stricken youth.
Samuel L. Jackson
Introducing Samuel L. Jackson is unnecessary. After achieving success in films like “Django Unchained” and with his work as Nick Fury in the MCU, his name has been heard, and his characteristic enthusiasm has been seen in plenty of moments across recorded time. Jackson is one of the most credit-heavy film actors. Similar to many other famous people, Jackson had a complicated relationship with his father. He was an estranged alcoholic, and the actor only saw his dad two times in his whole life. However, the low point of Jackson’s life could have been when he held Martin Luther King Sr. hostage at Morehouse College in 1969. Although the hostages were not harmed, the act alone was more than enough to expel him from the institution.
Woody Harrelson
Believe it or not, this actor has had a life that would tragically fit well in one of his drama films. The star of Venom: Let There Be Carnage not only has a complicated family life but also a wild story from childhood that falls somewhere between The Pursuit of Happyness and Finding Nemo. Woody’s father, Charles Harrelson, had his own story of woe—a serious, sobering yarn that could redefine a life in many ways. And it certainly redefined a life we’ve come to know as Woody Harrelson.
Unlike many entertainers, Woody’s dad wasn’t a big-star, above-the-line type. Charles Voyde Harrelson was an underworld figure—a hitman for the mob. A prominent figure in the world of organized crime, he was convicted of the murder of a Texas grain dealer in 1973, just before being incarcerated again in 1978 due to his committing another hit. Woody, the wonderful man that he is, made attempts to reconcile with his father for most of his adult life. In 2007, Charles died in a maximum-security prison.
Kevin Spacey
The downfall of actor Kevin Spacey has become a defining moment for modern-age Hollywood: a man who once stood at the top of it all is now suddenly at the bottom, due to a series of abominable acts that can’t be excused by any means. While Spacey’s actions can’t be defended, we can at least find a psychological reason behind them. As a kid, Kevin and his brother Randy would be psychologically and sexually abused by their father, all while their mother turned a blind eye out of fear. Spacey’s mother would later excuse herself by saying that she, along with Spacey’s father, were also victims of child abuse. In the end, Spacey would become a child abuser himself, perpetuating this awful circle of abuse and degeneracy for yet another generation of his family.
Shia LaBeouf
Shia LaBeouf has said that his parents were “hippies” who were “tough as nails.” The actor has alleged that his childhood was considerably hard, especially with a father who was a drug addict, a mother trying to keep things together, and a whole mess of trying to find and keep a normal life in the midst of a very abnormal life. LaBeouf lived with his father from the age of 12 while he was making Even Stevens, with his father as his on-set guardian. During this time, he accompanied his father to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. LaBeouf has also said he was subjected to abuse by his father, who once pointed a gun at him during a Vietnam War flashback.
Robin Williams
Robin Williams spent his childhood in solitude and with a feeling of abandonment. Even though he grew up in a wealthy family—his father an executive and his mother a former model—there was little love in the home that Robin grew up in. His mother, busy herself, didn’t pay much attention to Robin, while his father and he seemed worlds apart. Williams found it within himself to be an imaginative child. He often used humor as a mechanism to defend himself against bullies. See and learn more: Lifestyle Fortress
