Rhys Meyers back at work after rehab
Jonathan Rhys Meyers Photo: Getty Images
Sunday March 15 2009
Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers has checked out of rehab after receiving treatment for alcoholism.
The troubled Corkman has left the recovery centre in England, after spending just over two weeks at the exclusive Causeway Retreat on Osea Island, Essex.
It was the third time that the star has sought rehab help for alcohol, this time after a nine-day drinking session. He has now flown back to Los Angeles to continue his work.
He is said to have held several low-key meetings with movie executives in relation to his upcoming commitments, while sources close to The Tudors production in Ireland say work is going ahead as scheduled for the next series of the award-winning drama.
Meanwhile, friends close to the Tudors star say he will continue to seek help for the deep-rooted issues behind his alcohol problem.
"He is back in LA and he is back at work in so far as he is holding meetings with various parties about upcoming projects," said a source.
"He is a tortured soul in that when he does have days off, he can spiral quickly into a place where neither he nor his loved ones would like him to be."
Speaking about his decision to seek help in recent weeks, the friend said: "He recognised that he needed help and hopefully now he is back on the straight and narrow. It is something that he finally accepted within himself that he has to deal with.
"He will continue to get help now and the people around him will work to keep him going on the right track."
The Cork-born actor, 31, paid almost €12,000 a week for treatment at the exclusive 10-bedroom retreat.
He had previously spent several weeks at the privately owned centre -- where singer Amy Winehouse was treated -- in December and January as part of a month-long drying out programme.
But he discharged himself early and attended the Golden Globes awards ceremony in LA on January 11 when he was seen leaving looking the worse for wear with Irish director Jim Sheridan.
He was then at the BAFTAs in London on Sunday, February 8, but was back in rehab the following day.
However, he left again the next day citing contractual obligations and began a nine-day drinking session. Suspicions only arose when Rhys Meyers failed to show at the IFTAs in Dublin last month, where his acclaimed TV series The Tudors picked up 10 awards. The day before, he was allegedly spotted buying spirits in London.
He also missed the Oscar Wilde Awards in LA, the annual celebration of the Irish in Hollywood, staged just before the Academy Awards.
The star has previously spoken about his battle with the bottle saying, "I didn't start drinking until I was 25. Since then I've been drunk maybe a dozen and a half times. When I do, I'm like Bambi. I'm all over the place, hopeless, like a 16-year-old kid. People notice."
In November 2007, he was arrested at Dublin Airport by gardai and charged with being drunk and in breach of the peace. In London the next day, he was pictured with a can of cider in his hand.
Then came the news that his mother had died in Cork, at the age of 50. Heartbroken Jonathan flew back for the funeral, where he was comforted by acting pal Colin Farrell among others.
- NIAMH HORAN Entertainment News Reporter
