Quitting is not an option

Til Schweiger: “I definitely have the addiction gene”

Rumors about alcohol and outbursts of anger on the film set - Til Schweiger (60) has had a turbulent year. In the "Hotel Matze" podcast with presenter Matze Hielscher (45), the actor once again spoke at length about this difficult time. 

Actor Til Schweiger spoke about alcohol for the first time in 2023. It wasn't just his colleagues on the "Manta Manta" film set who asked the family man about it. Friends and family were also increasingly worried, as he himself says.

"I definitely have the addiction gene. One person can just stop and the other can't." At some point, Schweiger could no longer do it.

Quitting was no longer an option
"I drank my first vodka when I was 30. Then at some point I discovered wine. But I'd definitely stopped by 40 - when I realized it was getting too much. In recent years, I've often drunk too much alcohol," says the 60-year-old.

The actor had even hurt friends in his alcohol mania.(Bild: www.PPS.at)

Film tears were not uncommon - with consequences. He had made mistakes and even hurt friends in his alcohol mania. "At some point, there were too many times when I woke up the next morning and thought: 'All is right with the world!' And then you get told from the conversations what you've been doing," the actor recalled.

He continued: "Every time you say: That can't happen again!" Nevertheless, these things happened again and again. Clarifying conversations were needed. With his friends, his family and especially with his four children.

"It's an incredibly nice feeling to be stunned"
Despite everything, Til Schweiger stuck to his guns after around a year of therapy: he is not an alcoholic! Even his therapist didn't think so. But if that's the case, why can't the father-of-four refrain from reaching for the bottle?

Schweiger's answer: "Because it's an incredibly nice feeling to be drunk. It's just a bit tippy. That's what I've been working on over the past year." However, quitting completely is not an option for the actor at the moment. "I don't want to give it up because I love drinking wine," Schweiger revealed. "If someone says: 'You can't do that...' - that's hard."