Meyers stunned into sobriety by mother's death

Actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers kicked his alcohol addiction after the death of his mother - because her untimely demise gave him the determination to do more with his life.

The Irish star's mum Geraldine Meyers-O'Keeffe suffered a stroke in November, and Meyers turned to drink in a bid to cope with the news - resulting in his arrest for drunken behaviour at a Dublin Airport hours later.

She passed away unexpectedly two days later. Charges of public drunkenness and breach of the peace against Meyers were later dropped.

And the 'Mission: Impossible III' actor - who entered rehab in early 2007 to battle alcoholism - insists he has been sober ever since.

He says: "I haven't even thought about drinking since my mother passed away. Drinking is not the way forward for me at all.

"Since I was 27 I must have been drunk maybe a dozen-and-a-half times - but when I do, I'm like Bambi. I'm all over the place, hopeless, like a 16-year-old kid. People notice.

"Now drink doesn't fit into where I want to go. I want to do something useful with my life. Drinking is not synonymous with that.

"To be honest, I just leave it alone and hope people will, too, but I don't really care. The whole drinking thing with me has been blown out of all proportion anyway."