Star of the hit 1995 thriller Copycat William McNamara is opening up about his decision to leave Hollywood behind — and just how he lost all of his movie money.
“I had an ongoing drug problem, and that really gets in the way,” McNamara, 61, told the Los Angeles Inquisitor in an interview published on Wednesday, May 27, before adding that he is now “21 years sober … no drugs, no alcohol.”
After deciding to leave the blinding lights of Los Angeles in the rearview, McNamara told the outlet he set his sights on animal activism, joining the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. The actor traveled to Japan, where he was “arrested documenting the annual dolphin slaughter,” per the outlet.
Footage obtained during the incident was later used in the 2009 Academy Award-winning documentary The Cove. He later worked with Alison Eastwood on what would later become National Geographic’s Animal Intervention — but his activism came at what the publication described as “a cost.”
“You don’t get paid,” he told the outlet. “You end up going through your savings.”
Back in the U.S. and struggling to survive alongside his pit bull Boo, McNamara said he couldn’t find an apartment willing to rent to a dog owner. Forced to live in his car, his dog was later diagnosed with cancer and required chemotherapy treatment totaling $1,200 a week.
After spending everything he had to keep his dog alive, the actor told the outlet he eventually contemplated suicide.
“I stayed alive for her,” he says of his four-legged friend Boo. “That was my reason for being.”
McNamara’s rise to fame, drug-fueled fall from grace, activism and eventual financial troubles became fuel for his 10-year-long project and new TV show The Trouble With Billy. The 10-episode series stars McNamara alongside Randall Batinkoff, Billy Baldwin, Angus Macfadyen, Alison Eastwood, Claudia Charriez, Costas Mandylor, Ele Keats, Lindsey Pelas, Marilu Henner, Robert Wagner, and the late actors Corey Parker, Sally Kirkland and Tom Sizemore.
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“It’s based on a true story… unfortunately,” McNamara said of the series. “It was very cathartic taking some of the worst episodes in my life, some of my biggest mistakes, and distilling them into playable scenes. People can’t believe it really happened, but as we say in the show, unfortunately, most of it did.”
According to the outlet, 20 percent of all proceeds from the series will go to animal rescue efforts “connected to Alison Eastwood, with plans to expand support to other organizations, including LGBTQ organizations.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
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