American Pie star Jason Biggs has spoken out about a vodka trick he would use to hide that he was an alcoholic.
The 47-year-old actor was only 21 when we were introduced to his role as Jim Levenstein in the American Pie film franchise.
The first film hit theaters in 1999 and starred many talented people, including Seann William Scott, Tara Reid, and Alyson Hannigan.
However, along with the immense success of his breakthrough role came pressures that Biggs found difficult to handle, especially when it came to his alcohol abuse.
The Vodka Trick
In a recent interview on The Blocks Podcast with Neal Brennan, Biggs candidly revealed a clever and alarming trick he used to conceal his drinking habit from others.
"My alcoholism was the kind where... let's say we were having a party. I would drink myself upstairs straight from the vodka bottle, just enough to get by buzz on that I could go down to the party, then have a beer in my hand and everyone else would think [I was on my] first beer, beer number 1, but I'm already buzzed enough to where I could sort of hang and party."
A Dangerous Spiral Fueled by Fame and Fortune
Biggs’ struggles with alcohol were not limited to his time on set.
In another interview on The Well with Arielle Lorre Podcast, he reflected on the dangerous spiral that occurred when he was just 22, with money in the bank, easy access to drugs, and no one to hold him accountable.
“Being 22 with money in the bank and coke in my pocket and no one saying no to me,” Biggs recalled.
“I lived in the gray area, but I have ‘snorting dust off the floor’ stories or similar to that.”
One particularly harrowing story involved him doing cocaine alone in his house at 4:00AM, deciding he was done for the night before giving in to his impulses.
"Within 15 minutes, as soon as my last bump is wearing off, I’m like, what am I doing? I go into my trash, and I take it out, and I do a line," he said.
The spiral didn't end there as Biggs continued: "Before I took the Ambien, I was like, ‘One more.’ I went outside, and I climbed into the trash bin and got the bag of Coke, and went upstairs and did another line.
"I was like, ‘What the f*** am I doing? This is absolutely insane.’"
Hiding His Addiction from Loved Ones
In a deeply personal conversation on his wife Jenny Mollen's podcast All the Fails, Biggs opened up further about his high-functioning alcoholism.
For years, he would drink large bottles of vodka daily without his wife's knowledge, even going so far as to buy a fifth of vodka after therapy sessions, all while appearing normal on the outside.
"I’m going to therapy and ‘working on things’, but meanwhile, I’m leaving therapy, having just had a good session, and I’m going to the liquor store and buying a fifth of vodka, drinking it and then driving home," Biggs confessed.
Mollen, visibly shocked, responded, “I was married to this guy? That's so weird to me! These are the things that like, shock me. How did I not notice?”
Biggs explained how he kept his drinking habit hidden, saying, “I had it figured out to a T - to not get too drunk where I couldn’t have a conversation with you."
He also described his "bottle method" for constantly replenishing the liquor cabinet, a trick that kept his wife unaware of his escalating addiction.
In October 2018, the Saving Silverman actor publicly announced his sobriety journey on Instagram: "I first tried to get sober over 5 years ago, when the weight of my obsession with booze and drugs became too heavy for me to handle.
"Turns out this s*** is hard. After some fits and starts, I’ve managed to put together one year of sobriety.
"I’m as proud of it as anything in my life. If you’re struggling, know there’s help. Don’t be ashamed. We can do this," he added.
Now sober, Biggs continues to be an advocate for mental health and addiction recovery, using his platform to raise awareness and encourage others to seek help.