Christian Slater - Back from the Edge

Book excerpt: Christian Slater is a screen icon in his own time and one of the world's most admired actors. This long awaited biography traces the life and career of a fascinating Hollywood player...From the late eighties onwards, Christian Slater was the embodiment of teenage cool. Films such as The Name of the Rose, Young Guns II and Pump Up the Volume became instant cult classics and ensured his status as both a teenage heartthrob and as the elite actor of his generation. His position as an A-list star was hardly diminished during the nineties, with brilliant performances in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, True Romance, Broken Arrow and Very Bad Things establishing him as a formidable force in acting.But fame and success did not always sit easily with Christian, and from his off-screen behaviour resulted a 'bad boy' reputation that has stuck with him ever since. Alcohol and drug excesses have led to numerous incidents with the law, assault charges, even a stint in jail - but through all this, Christian managed to retain a highly successful career.These personal demons, as well as Christian's intense and turbulent love affairs with the likes of Winona Ryder, Christina Applegate and Patricia Arquette, have merely added to the romance of this highly elusive and attractive individual. Yet for the man himself, the crazy lifestyle started to take its toll, and in more recent years Christian started to come to terms with the personality flaws that have plagued him throughout his family life and career.In addition to his film career, Christian's impeccable performances in a recent stage play version of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest won him the Theatregoers Choice Award for Best Actor, and with his role in Broadway's The Glass Menagerie and the West End production of Sweet Bird of Youth, his return to theatrical mainstream is in full bloom.From this incisive biography, which includes a complete filmography, emerges a complex and sometimes contradictory character, a man who has dealt with fame, love, loss and success in his own, uncompromising and inspired way. The films, the flings, the affairs, the media gossip - all are dealt with truthfully in a book as fascinating and candid as the man himself.