Sir Anthony Hopkins has marked 45 years of sobriety with an emotional video.
The The Silence of the Lambs actor, 82, gave up alcohol in 1975 after he nearly "drank himself to death".
Taking to Twitter to celebrate the milestone, Sir Anthony said he made the choice whether to "live or die" when he quit drinking.
He said: "It’s been a tough year full of grief and sadness for many, many, many people, but 45 years ago today I had a wake up call.
"I was headed for disaster, I was drinking myself to death.
"I'm not preachy but I got a message, a little thought that said, 'Do you want to live or die?' and I said 'I want to live.'"
He continued: "Suddenly the relief came and my life has been amazing and I may have off days and sometimes little bits of doubt and all that, but all in all I say hang in there.
"Today is the tomorrow you were so worried about.
"You young people, don’t give up.
"Just keep in there keep fighting.
"Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.
"That’s the statement through my life.
"That's all I’ve got to say.
"Happy New Year, this is gonna be the best year. Thank you."
It comes after the national treasure told The Mirror how he was at peace with the concept of dying.
In an extraordinary interview to mark 60 years on screen, the 82-year-old actor told how he had accepted “the inevitable” – although he has no plans to go just yet.
He said: “Your life is terminal. It’s a terminal condition, you’re not going to get off the planet alive.
"With that reality there’s a tremendous freedom, a wonderful peacefulness about it.
“I remember when my mother was dying, she’d just had enough.
"She was 89 and wanted to go. It’s a sad subject still, but that’s the inevitable.”
Hopkins has had a fractured relationship with his only child, musician Abigail, now 52.
He once revealed he had not spoken to her in 20 years and did not care whether or not she had children.
In a 2018 interview, he insisted: “I’m not cold. Her choice is her choice.
"I did the best I could but, you know, I think if somebody doesn’t want to be part of my life, fine.”
