‘Grateful’ Jason Isaacs celebrates sobriety milestone

Jason Isaacs is celebrating a powerful milestone, marking 27 years of sobriety.

The White Lotus star, 62, reflected on his journey in a heartfelt Instagram post on Sunday, October 5, where he revealed what it felt like to get through his first night without drugs or alcohol.

“Twenty-seven years ago today the sun rose on the first 24 hours I’d had clean or drugs or alcohol in my entire adult life,” he wrote. 

“I didn’t wake up that way because I didn’t wake up. I hadn’t gone to bed to keep away from temptation and to avoid tearing up my floorboards (again) or searching every item of clothing (again) — both surprisingly fruitful over the previous days.”

He recalled that moment as a turning point, sharing that while he had no idea how long it would last, he finally felt something he hadn’t experienced in decades.

“Hope. I’d got through one night. Who knew what was possible?”

Since then, Isaacs has taken his recovery “one step at a time” and “one day at a time.” 

Marking more than two decades free of substance abuse, he explained why he continues to share his story. 

“I’m writing to see that it’s possible if you ask for help. You don’t have to do it the way I did, but however far gone you think you are, however irreversible you think your situation is, there’s always a way back. A way forward [and] a way back to the surface. Always. Just take the first baby step and surrender.”

The actor also expressed deep gratitude to those who supported him through his recovery. 

“Thank you to everyone who helped me and continues to help me try and stay sane in an insane world,” he wrote. 

“It’s not false modesty or humility to say that I couldn’t have done it without you — I tried doing it by myself and failed every single time. I’m so grateful to be present in life, even for the awful things, the painful things, the scare things. I ran from them before and now, sometimes, not always, I run at them. I show it.”

He closed his message with encouragement for others who may be struggling, writing, “Good luck. You can do it.”

Isaacs has been open in the past about the struggles that led him to sobriety. 

In a 2020 interview with The Big Issue, he admitted that before quitting, he felt completely disconnected from the world. 

“I thought I was broken,” he said at the time. 

“I remember there being a moment, not long before I got clean, when it suddenly occurred to me that if everybody I knew died, literally every single person, I probably wouldn’t mind that much… I know now that’s not true and never was. I love, I feel, I connect [and] I care. We all do. The drugs weren’t a way of dealing with that sense of distance, the drugs were causing it.”

Now, after 27 years of sobriety, Isaacs says he has found purpose, connection, and hope — a message he continues to share with others navigating their own struggles.