Actor-turned-director Alex Winter, who starred in both Bill & Ted films alongside friend Keanu Reeves, says that he was sexually abused as a child actor. Speaking with BBC radio host Adrian Chiles, Winter says he was a victim of abuse "in the 1970s." The Hollywood Reporter says Winter spoke about the abuse very bluntly, explaining the "hellish" impact it had on his life in the years that followed.
Opening up about the post-traumatic stress disorder he suffered from, he says, "I began to do work on it. But it really took time. And it really wasn't in my case, I would say, 'til well into my '30s, that I was really able to do heavy lifting on this stuff." Keeping it buried, he admits that it was never something he wanted to talk about, explaining that he never felt he had the "resources" or "safety" to report the abuse. He says the power dynamics at play kept him silent, as is the case with so many victims of abuse.
He also spoke about the current climate now we're living in a world where victims are speaking up more. "The problems aren't going to get sorted out overnight, because frankly, these issues are part of the fabric of human nature, and they've existed since there have been human beings walking around on the planet," he explained. "It's going to take time, it's going to take mental health work, it's going to take the capacity of society to listen to some unpleasant truths about itself."
Thankfully, he says he found some respite in working on the Bill & Ted movies with Keanu Reeves. He says the movies were "therapeutic" to work on, and that the universe presented in those films were "a very sweet and fun place to run around in." Despite the last film in the franchise arriving 27 years ago, a third film is supposedly on the way soon.
