With much of young Hollywood using rehab like a revolving door, I was a bit surprised today to hear that actress Sean Young has entered rehab for alcohol abuse. Sean was removed from the Directors Guild of America award show Saturday after she heckled the director of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Julian Schnabel.
While Julian was giving his speech, he began to falter, pausing, and running his hand through his hair. Sean hollered out “Get on with it!” Julian had a great rebound though, asking “Who said that to me?” Once he saw it was Sean, he replied “Have another cocktail.” He then said “And why don’t you finish my speech, darling?” then began to walk off the stage. Of the incident, her reps released the following statement: “Actress Sean Young voluntarily admitted herself yesterday to a rehabilitation center for treatment related to alcoholism. It is understood that Young has struggled against the disease for many years.”
I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, given Sean’s history. Maybe the alcohol can explain a lot of incidents in her past. Sean started out strong in Hollywood in the early 80’s, appearing in Jane Austen in Manhattan, Stripes, and starring opposite Harrison Ford in Blade Runner. She also starred in No Way Out and Wall Street but along the way, she became better known for her off screen antics. In 1988, she appeared in The Boost with James Woods. The two became a couple, but after it was broken off (if I remember correctly, by James), Sean was accused of harassing both James and his then-fiancee, reportedly leaving a disfigured doll on his doorstep. Woods sued her and the lawsuit was settled out of court in 1989.
But, Sean’s odd behavior didn’t end there. She tried to get the role of Catwoman in 1992’s Batman Returns by confronting director Tim Burton and star Michael Keaton in a homemade Catwoman costume during production. In 2006, she tried to crash the Vanity Fair Oscar party.
The director’s guild released a statement Tuesday saying “The DGA wishes to respect Ms. Young’s privacy at this difficult time and declines to further comment.”
Related blogs:
The Surprising and the Not-So Surprising
The Betty Ford Center: 25 Years Later