Will Arnett Opens Up About His Recent Alcohol Relapse: 'I Just Know Where This Path Goes, and It's a Dead End'

Will Arnett is an Emmy-nominated comedian and actor in the Hollywood scene, beloved and adored by fans – but what many may not know about the star is that he has struggled with sobriety for years.

Now, Arnett has opened up about his hardships in a candid interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

As it turns out, Arnett’s new series Flaked (on which he serves as writer, producer and co-creator) is drawn heavily from the actor’s past. In the show, he plays Chip, a 40-something man struggling with sobriety – and the first day of shooting was set to coincide with the 15th anniversary of Arnett’s own sobriety.

The idea for the series, he told THR, came when he was at “a tricky place” in his life – summer 2012, when his nine-year marriage to Amy Poehler was beginning to fall apart. (The pair, who married in August 2003, separated in 2012 and finalized their divorce in 2014.)

“I started to write this character based on things that I loathed in other people and the sort of injustice of the world,” Arnett explained of the show, which is now streaming on Netflix. “It became this tough, uncomfortable process. And because I was putting a lot of stuff about my own life in there, I noticed it really starting to affect my mood and my behavior.”

“As I was writing all this s— [on Flaked] and I start shooting it, I started getting confused about where I was at,” he hesitantly told the outlet. “Hardly anybody knows this, but I started drinking again.”

Arnett, 45, insists he’s been clean for at least a few months and attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

“I described it at a meeting recently like a whistle off in the distance for a train you know is coming for you. It was a bummer, but it happens,” he said.

“And for me, it happened as easily as it had [the first time]: It was right there,” he said, explaining that he tried to justify the relapse to himself as something he needed to do to play the part of Chip, but soon realized he needed to do something about it. He soon got the support he needed after reaching out to a friend whom he’d helped get sober years earlier.

“I was filled with shame,” he admitted. “I just know where this path goes, and it’s a dead end. I’m not the smartest guy in the world, but I’m smart enough to know that this is not where I want to live.”

Plus, he needs to be around for his two sons, Archie, 7, and Abel, 5, with ex Poehler.

“I’m a dad now, a parent first and foremost,” he said.

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As for “the first time” his drinking got out of control? It was several years ago, when the Toronto-born star was a struggling actor flying back and forth between New York City and Los Angeles for auditions and voiceover gigs.

“It was so f—ing depressing,” he said of his days staying at a Los Angeles Oakwood apartment complex with dozens of other out-of-town actors. “I’m so lucky I didn’t own a pistol.”

He started hitting up local bars after returning to New York City, usually jobless: “I could’ve gone to law school a couple of times over with the time and money I spent in [Chelsea bar Peter McManus],” he joked.

“And it would get earlier and earlier. It’d be like 4 p.m., and the weekends would start on Wednesdays,” he continued. “And it didn’t matter if I was hungover because I could roll out of bed and go do a voiceover. Or at least I’d [tell myself that] at 3 a.m.”

Eventually, a close female friend intervened and insisted he get help: “I just crumbled,” he said. “I went to an AA meeting that day.”

He went on to move to Venice, California, in 2000 and later landed the role of Gob Bluth on Fox’s Arrested Development in 2003: “After years and years of frustration, it was the validation I needed,” he said, explaining that he started to cry after the soon-to-be critically acclaimed series got picked up.

Now Arnett is back on the small screen with Flaked – and the mixed reviews have left him feeling frustrated.

“When you have a [reviewer] say, ‘It’s not even a good depiction of sobriety – that they do a better job on [CBS]’ Mom, you’re like, ‘What are you talking about?’ ” he said.

“This is actually f—ing happening [to me], you a–hole. This is actually happening in real time – as quickly as we can shoot, it’s happening.”