Fear the Walking Dead’s Nick Stahl celebrates 4 years of sobriety

We hear stories of child actors and substance abuse way too frequently. But, to read about the other side of the story, the stories of fighting the addictions and celebrations of recovery are the stories that really need to be told. Fear the Walking Dead’s Nick Stahl talked about that very subject in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

Stahl joined TWD Family as Riley in season six of Fear the Walking Dead. He was a right-hand man of cult leader Teddy Maddox and was willing to do anything to further his goal and spread his mantra “The End is the Beginning.”

Riley served as a weapons officer on the USS Pennsylvania. When the submarine beached, he survived with Walter (Damon Carney). Riley would eventually meet up with Teddy and live at the Holding, the underground settlement for the cult followers.

Things didn’t work out well for Riley, and he was killed and reanimated before the nuclear bombs were set off.

Nick Stahl Fear the Walking Dead celebrates 4 years of sobriety

In 1993 Nick Stahl would co-star in the movie, A Man Without a Face with Mel Gibson, which would be his breakout role. He would have a successful career with roles on  The Thin Red Line, In the Bedroom, Bully, Sin City, the HBO series Carnivàle. He also played the role of John Connor in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.

Recently, Stahl took a much-needed break from his career and has now celebrated four years of being clean and sober. He shared his secret with THR.

"“I was pretty much hung over for every single day of work that I ever did — as a kid, in my early 20s, through all the films, through In the Bedroom, through Terminator, through Carnivàle, through all of it,” Stahl says of a crippling drug and alcohol dependency that very nearly killed him. “I didn’t really discriminate — I’d use anything to change the way I felt when I was sober.”"

His story is sadly one we have heard before, but luckily it has had a positive outcome. Be sure to read the whole story on THR, as it is a story of someone who has truly made a miraculous comeback. It can be an inspiration to others who suffer from addictions.

Upon his return to acting, he expected some resistance. He has been pleasantly surprised to be welcomed back and has gotten many roles since that time.

His more recent roles include American Dream, Grace and Grit and Animal Kingdom. He also starred in the horror film What Josiah Saw with fellow TWDU actor Robert Patrick and a drama called Night Blooms. 

He will also star in James the Second with fellow TWDU actress Lynn Collins that has yet to be released. Stahl also has two other upcoming projects, Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac, which is in production with an expected release in 2023, and a drama Love in Vein. 

Congrats to Nick Stahl on his sobriety and his comeback to his acting career. TWD Family celebrates with you and wishes you much more success in the future.