Carrie Fisher, who passed away this week at the age of 60, was a beacon of light to her family and friends. Fisher’s former co-star Corey Feldman is speaking about a dark time in his life where he was addicted to drugs and needed help getting back on track.
Feldman tells PEOPLE that Fisher was always in his corner whenever he needed her, recalling their days on set while they filmed the 1989 comedy The ‘Burbs. “She was just very supportive and very positive and sweet. Every minute on the set with her was a pure joy, honestly,” he says. “We never had an argument; we never had an awkward moment.”
Fisher played Carol Peterson, who was a suburban mom, alongside her husband Ray Peterson (Tom Hanks). Feldman took on the role of Ricky Butler, who was the neighbor of Petersons. During this time, Feldman admits he was heavy into drugs, and Fisher noticed early on during the start of filming.
“I was not at the best point in my life and I was about to go off the deep end to the dark side right before I became a heroin addict, and she saw it coming,” he says. “She saw the darkness that was growing in me, but I didn’t understand it at that point. I didn’t know what was coming.”
“Carrie looked into my eyes and saw the pain and recognized it,” Feldman continues. “She said to me, ‘Honey, I got tot tell ya, this is your bail out. This is your chance to become clean and I can help you. Or you can be in denial and you’re going to go down this long, hard road.’"
Feldman, who was then just 18 years old, says he didn’t think he had a problem. “‘I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I really appreciate that you’re reaching out and you’re sweet, but I’m fine,’ ” he says. “And I believed I was fine. But she had some great psychic ability and she saw my future. She knew I was headed for danger.”
Feldman was addicted to heroin and struggled with the drug for years until he sobered up. While he didn’t necessarily agree with her concerns, he is thankful that someone was able to see where he was heading. “[Carrie] told me, ‘You may believe you’re fine, but you’re not. You are changing seats on the Titanic,’ ” he remembers. “Sure enough, a year later, I tried heroin for the first time and became an addict.”
Fisher suffered a heart attack on Dec. 23 and died four days later on Dec. 27. Her mother, Debbie Reynolds, died the following day from a stroke. Feldman had nothing but well wishes for them.
“My prayers are certainly with her family more than ever, and now Debbie, it’s heartbreaking,” he says. “She was a beautiful and wonderful lady, and will be missed by many.”
