By Stone Martindale Aug 26, 2006, 16:54 GMT
Actor Matt Dillon was left so stressed out after making his directorial debut with the critically praised 2002 City Of Ghosts, he fell into a drunken stupor that led to a frightening bar brawl.
The Crash star recalls returning to Cambodia, where he made the Ghosts film, and finding himself hooked on local alcohol.
But what started as a holiday led to a pissed drunk Dillon picking a fight with an Australian backpacker.
He recalls, "I got into an altercation with some a**hole Australian backpacker."The traveller reportedly headbutted Dillon in the fracas that followed and the actor admits he just went crazy.
He adds, "I got up. I don't talk about it much, because it's kind of embarrassing. I started pounding him. He was trying to get away from me. I was out of my mind."
Dillon now tries to keep himself busy, because he accepts down time and booze are not a great combination for him.
He concludes, "I wasn't used to being idle and just being alone with my thoughts and feelings." Perhaps his life is imitating his currently released "art" Factotum, the film that has Dillon playing Hank Chinaski, the fictional alter-ego of "Factotum" author Charles Bukowski, who wanders around Los Angeles trying to live off jobs which don't interfere with his primary interest, which is writing. Along the way, he fends off the distractions offered by women, drinking and gambling.
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