Toby Stephens opened up to The Guardian about his hopes for the future and any regrets he’s had, and was asked what he would “edit” from his past if he had the chance.
Toby Stephens’ father’s death from cirrhosis was all the motivation he needed to stop drinking himself.
The Lost in Space star opened up to The Guardian newspaper about his hopes for the future and any regrets he’s had, and was asked what he would “edit” from his past if he had the chance.
To which Toby replied: “There was a very large part of my 20s where I was an alcoholic, and an addict.
“When I lost my dad to cirrhosis, I knew that the only difference between us was that, tragically, he couldn’t stop whereas I could.”
Cirrhosis is advanced scarring of the liver caused by long-term damage, and can be exacerbated by heavy drinking.
Toby’s father Sir Robert Stephens died in 1995 aged 64.
Elsewhere in the interview, Toby reflected on the impact his mum, Dame Maggie Smith, had on his life, as he said she was always “very practical”.
He recalled her asking him: “What kind of plays do you like, what movies do you like?”
Adding that she also told him: “Don’t just sit back and expect this thing to happen; you need to be actively cultivating and curating your own taste.”
Toby responded to the question “if you could bring something extinct back to life, what would you choose” by answering “my mother”.
Dame Maggie died in September 2024 at the age of 89.
Toby is married to actress Anna-Louise Plowman, and the pair have three children together – son Eli and daughters Tallulah and Kura.
It was with one of his daughters that Toby experienced his “most embarrassing moment.
He sighed: “I was in a restaurant with my daughter in Los Angeles and I had an accident involving a stomach upset
“That was mortifying for both of us!”
Toby also frequently leaves his wife red-faced with his emotional reactions to seeing his children in productions at school.
He admitted: “I cry all the time. It’s embarrassing. I mostly cry when my children perform something at school.
“My wife regularly says, ‘Do you see any other fathers weeping?’ But I can’t stop myself.”
As well as his on-screen roles, in shows such as the Netflix revival of Lost in Space and the Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Toby is also a skilled theatre actor.
He’s currently starring in the show Equus at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory, until July 4, and will be leading the production when it moves to the Theatre Royal Bath, from July 14 to 25.
Toby Stephens’ dad’s cirrhosis battle prompted him to ditch drinking
