Jonathan Rhys Meyers says he is not an alcoholic.
The 41-year-old actor has battled problems with alcohol for many years but after recently relapsing and getting into an argument with his wife and airline staff on a flight from Miami to Los Angeles, he insisted he simply has an "allergy" to alcohol.
He told Event magazine with the Mail On Sunday: "I’ve let myself down by relapsing, and it’s my responsibility. Nobody else is to blame. I actually don’t like the taste of alcohol.
"I would be known as somebody who relapses with problem drinking, not alcoholism. I don’t suffer from alcoholism – I suffer from an allergy to alcohol every time I drink it. But once I stop, I never think about it again.
"That doesn’t mean that the problem is any less, it just means I have a different version of it. But when I drink, the consequences are so devastating that it is a problem. But I never need a drink. It’s not something that I crave."
Jonathan – whose mother Geraldine suffered from issues with alcohol – did not start drinking until he was 26 and does not believe his problems are hereditary as his three brothers have no issues with drinking.
Jonathan was detained at Los Angeles’ LAX airport when his plane touched down on the runway earlier this month following an on-board fight with his spouse Mara Lane – with whom he has 18-month-old son Wolf – and he previously revealed he ordered a drink following a series of "frustrating" events.
He said: "My wife and I had been traveling since 3 o’clock in the morning from Peru back to Los Angeles. And they gave away our tickets – it was just a problem with the airline.
"We had our baby, who was teething at the time, and it was all kind of frustrating.
"So we eventually got on the flight and my wife went to sleep and I very stupidly decided to order a drink. When my wife found that I’d ordered a drink, she got very, very angry with me because I shouldn’t drink. It doesn’t suit me and I had been sober for a long time.
"And so I felt that mistake and I got upset and I took out an e-cigarette. And the airline staff told me that I wasn’t allowed to smoke an e-cigarette so I put it away.
"Then I spoke to the Los Angeles police once we got there, who were incredibly kind. Incredibly understanding and that’s the entire story.
"As soon as I got off the airplane I went and spoke to somebody and I got back on track immediately."
Jonathan Rhys Meyers: ‘I’m not an alcoholic’
