Sir Anthony Hopkins "never had any idea" that he was an alcoholic

Hopkins writes in his new memoir We Did OK, Kid: "My memories of that time are foggy.

"During my drinking years I had caused a lot of pain. I never had any idea that I was an alcoholic. Rarely does a heavy drinker wake up to that without an intervention of some kind, and even then it takes a while to sink in. Denial is the greatest killer. And I was still in the grips of my addiction, though it was getting harder to deny it."

The Silence of the Lambs star added: "Booze is fine if you can keep it in check; I believe it can help you through certain awkward situations, be part of a joyful life.

"But there's a cost. The fun of drinking is a scorpion - its tail is lethal."

Hopkins recalled how he realised he was an alcoholic at the age of 37, after his doctor told him that he had the physical condition of a man much older.

The Welsh actor wrote how his doctor warned: "You have the beginning of liver problems. Could turn into cirrhosis. Also inflammation of the pancreas, and your lungs are becoming congested.

"I strongly advise you to stop smoking immediately. Smoking is deadlier than alcohol. It causes stasis in the arteries and veins. Alcohol in excess is also a killer. I don't need to tell you that. You already know. So, my friend, it's up to you."

Anthony has been sober since December 1975 and admits that he gave up booze after driving his car through Beverly Hills when he was completely drunk on one Saturday night.

He wrote: "I'd driven that car all night from Arizona without knowing I was doing. I could have killed someone. I could have taken out a whole family.

"I found out what I'd done when I went to my agent and said, 'Someone's stolen my car!', and my agent said, 'Nobody stole it. We found you on the road. You would be in jail right now if we hadn't.'"

Hopkins continued: "As I sobered up, I looked up at the eucalyptus trees and thanked God no one had died that night. I imagined my parents back in Wales hearing that I'd killed someone or myself. I saw their hopes smashed.

"I heard a voice ask me, 'Do you want to live or do you want to die?,' 'I want to live', a voice answered from somewhere deep inside me.

"Then I heard the voice say, 'It's all over now. You can start living.' The craving to drink left me. That was eleven o'clock on December 29, 1975."