Christian Slater reflected on how his life has changed since the height of his fame in the 1990s.
The 55-year-old actor became one of the era’s biggest A-listers after starring in a slew of hit movies. At the same time, Slater was battling drug and alcohol addiction, which led to a series of legal troubles that derailed his acting career.
Slater and his co-star in the new show “Dexter: Original Sin,” Molly Brown, recently sat down for an interview with Fox News Digital during which the actor opened up about becoming a devoted family man after his days as one of Hollywood’s most notorious bad boys.
“I was a frighteningly different person back in the ’90s,” Slater said.
CHRISTIAN SLATER ON RECONNECTING WITH HIS ‘MANIC-DEPRESSIVE SCHIZOPHRENIC’ FATHER
Christian Slater admitted that he was a “frighteningly different person” in the 1990s. (Getty Images)
He continued, “I don’t really even recognize who that person was. And today it’s certainly very different.”
“The hardest thing for me today is leaving home to go do a job,” Slater added. “Back in the 90s, it was like all I could wish for was just to be somewhere else all the time. Now I really like to be home.”
WATCH: CHRISTIAN SLATER SAYS HE WAS A ‘FRIGHTENINGLY DIFFERENT PERSON’ IN THE 90S
Slater, who launched his career at the age of 7, made his career breakthrough starring as the villainous high school student Jason “J.D.” Dean in the 1988 cult classic “Heathers.”
Slater made his career breakthrough in the 1988 movie “Heathers.” ( New World Pictures/Getty Images)
Over the next decade, he cemented his movie star status with leading roles in hit films like “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” “True Romance,” “Interview with the Vampire” and “Broken Arrow.”
As Slater’s career began to soar, his substance abuse issues resulted in a string of legal woes. In 1989, the actor was arrested for DUI and sentenced to 10 days in jail. Slater was arrested again in 1994 for attempting to board a plane with a handgun at New York City’s John F. Kennedy airport.
“I was a frighteningly different person back in the ’90s.”
In 1997, Slater was sentenced to three months in prison after being convicted of punching his girlfriend and assaulting a police officer while under the influence of heroin and cocaine. After being arrested, the New York native spent three months in a rehabilitation facility. He entered rehab again after completing his prison stint.
The “Hard Rain” actor’s career began to decline as his legal troubles mounted. In 2005, Slater quit drinking and using drugs, and he has maintained his sobriety ever since. Slater mounted a successful career comeback in 2015 when he starred in the hit show “Bad Robot,” earning a Golden Globe Award for his performance.
One of his best-known roles was in 1994’s “Interview with a Vampire.” (Francois Duhamel/Sygma via Getty Images)
During an 2015 interview with Details, Slater reflected on how he had come to terms with his past struggles.
“Look, I could spend a lot of time kicking the s— out of myself for the choices I made,” Slater said. “I was dealing with alcoholism and addiction, and there was a lot to take on without much life experience. Addiction is not pretty, and you don’t fully understand it unless you’re dealing with it head-on.”
Slater also told that outlet that his time in prison was “not so bad” and he believed that it was “necessary” at the time.
“Jail was a result of me not taking time for myself,” he said. “So I was forced to take some time for myself. It was necessary for me. When you’re going down that path, you either kill yourself or you’re forced to take time out.”
Slater was embroiled in a string of legal troubles. (Kypros/Getty Images)
After overcoming his addiction issues, Slater turned his focus to his family. The actor shares son Jaden, 24, and daughter Eliana, 22, with his ex-wife Ryan Haddon. Slater and his wife, Brittany Lopez, are parents to a 4-year-old daughter, and the couple welcomed a son in July.
While speaking with Fox News Digital, Slater said his life as a father to an infant is “great.” He explained that getting up when his baby son is crying in the middle of the night can be “challenging” at times but “it’s also so gratifying.”
WATCH: ‘DEXTER: ORIGINAL SIN’ STAR CHRISTIAN SLATER ON BEING A DAD
“He’s only five months, but somehow my wife only hears him calling ‘Daddy’ at 5:30 in the morning,” Slater said with a laugh. “I’m like, ‘OK.’ But you get up, you go in there, you see him, and he’s just the best, and he’s just smiling and funny.”
“It’s great,” he added. “I love it.”
Slater and ex-wife Ryan Haddon, pictured in 2004, share two children. (Fred Duval/FilmMagic)
Slater is starring in the new Showtime series “Dexter: Original Sin,” which premieres on Friday. “Dexter: Original Sin” is a reboot of Showtime’s hit serial killer series “Dexter,” which starred Michael C. Hall in the titular role and ran for eight seasons from 2006 to 2013.
A plot synopsis for “Dexter: Original Sin” reads, “Set in 1991 Miami, “Dexter: Original Sin” follows Dexter (Patrick Gibson) as he transitions from student to avenging serial killer. When his bloodthirsty urges can’t be ignored any longer, Dexter must learn to channel his inner darkness.”
“With the guidance of his father, Harry (Slater), he adopts a Code designed to help him find and kill people who deserve to be eliminated from society without getting on law enforcement’s radar. This is a particular challenge for young Dexter as he begins a forensics internship at the Miami Metro Police Department.”
The actor and his wife, Brittany Lopez, are parents to a daughter and a baby son. (Paul Drinkwater/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank)
The show also stars Hall as the narrator, as well as Patrick Dempsey, Christina Milian, Alex Shimizu, Reno and James Martinez and special guest star Sarah Michelle Gellar.
While speaking with Fox News Digital, Slater and Brown, who plays the younger version of Jennifer Carpenter’s “Dexter” character Debra Morgan, recalled how his son was born while they were filming the show.
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“Christian’s son was born during the shoot,” Brown said. “We were very lucky to be able to work with Christian during this time and how much he was able to give us.”
The actress continued, “Well, especially even on the day his son was born, he was working with us in L.A. and in every scene with us.”
WATCH: ‘DEXTER: ORIGINAL SIN’ STAR CHRISTIAN SLATER TALKS PLAYING DEXTER’S DAD IN REBOOT
“And he obviously had a lot going on that day,” she added with a laugh.
“It was a big day,” Slater recalled. “And I was charged up. I was really excited. And, you know, when stuff like that happens, I think it brought everybody closer together. And like the crew guys are asking me every day, ‘Hey, how is your son?’”
“It was lovely,” he said. “Yeah, it was great.”
In the show, Slater’s character, Harry Morgan, who was originally played by James Remar, is the adopted father of Dexter and the biological father of Debra. Harry is a detective with the Miami-Dade Police Department and a forensics expert who trains Dexter to focus his homicidal impulses on killing murderers without getting caught.
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Though Harry is long deceased before the events of the original series, he appears in flashbacks throughout the first two seasons and later in Dexter’s visions as his voice of reason.
Slater told Fox News Digital that he was excited by the opportunity to play Dexter’s father and show more of Harry’s backstory.
Christian Slater as Harry Morgan and Patrick Gibson as Dexter Morgan in “Dexter: Original Sin,” episode 1, season 1, streaming on Paramount+. (Patrick Wymore/Paramount+ with Showtime.)
“I love James Remar,” Slater said. “I’m a huge fan of his, and I thought he did a fantastic job in the original show. But this gave us an opportunity to explore the character further.”
He continued, “You only got to see glimpses of him in the original show. And this was a chance to really look at his background and make some new discoveries.”
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“This show answers questions that you didn’t know you had.”
The first episode of “Dexter: Original Sin” will be released on Dec. 13 with new episodes airing on Showtime every Friday until Feb. 14.
