Actor Erik "Happy" Anderson — known for his unforgettable role as Jerry Brudos in Mindhunter and appearances in The Knick — sits down for a raw, unfiltered conversation about addiction recovery, 21 years of sobriety, and surviving the relentless pressure of Hollywood.
By college, he was a "fall down drunk." By 26, he was homeless. In this candid interview on the Harder to Breathe Podcast, Happy shares his journey from blackout performances on stage to becoming a working actor in one of the toughest industries in the world. He opens up about the moment he realized he had a drinking problem at 13, the terrifying blackouts, hitting rock bottom, and the path that led him to lasting recovery.
📌 Timestamps
00:00 Intro
23:40 Why So Many Young Actors Get Sober
28:10 Being Blackout Drunk On Stage... and Getting Praise For It
31:30 Hitting Rock Bottom & Getting Sober
42:30 Mindhunter & Unearthing Repressed Trauma
47:15 The Rage I Had Before Sobriety
52:00 Acting is Therapeutic, But It's Not Therapy
01:01:00 The Anxiety of Being a Working Actor
01:10:00 Dealing with Resentment and Imposter Syndrome
01:24:30 My Kidney Cancer Diagnosis
🎧 Listen to the full episode now:
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Or wherever you get your podcasts
📲 Follow Happy Anderson: @happyandersonacting
📲 Follow Harder To Breathe:
🎙 Libsyn: sites.libsyn.com/533902
👍 Facebook: facebook.com/RyanMichaelDusick
📸 Instagram: instagram.com/ryan_michael_dusick
🕺 TikTok: tiktok.com/@ryandusick
💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/ryan-dusick-26460894
#HappyAnderson #SobrietyJourney #Mindhunter #AddictionRecovery #Hollywood #MentalHealthAwareness #ActorLife #podcast #HarderToBreathe
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Ruthie's Table 4
For more than 30 years The River Cafe in London, has been the home-from-home of artists, architects, designers, actors, collectors, writers, activists, and politicians. Michael Caine, Glenn Close, JJ Abrams, Steve McQueen, Victoria and David Beckham, and Lily Allen, are just some of the people who love to call The River Cafe home. On River Cafe Table 4, Rogers sits down with her customers—who have become friends—to talk about food memories. Table 4 explores how food impacts every aspect of our lives. “Foods is politics, food is cultural, food is how you express love, food is about your heritage, it defines who you and who you want to be,” says Rogers. Each week, Rogers invites her guest to reminisce about family suppers and first dates, what they cook, how they eat when performing, the restaurants they choose, and what food they seek when they need comfort. And to punctuate each episode of Table 4, guests such as Ralph Fiennes, Emily Blunt, and Alfonso Cuarón, read their favourite recipe from one of the best-selling River Cafe cookbooks. Table 4 itself, is situated near The River Cafe’s open kitchen, close to the bright pink wood-fired oven and next to the glossy yellow pass, where Ruthie oversees the restaurant. You are invited to take a seat at this intimate table and join the conversation. For more information, recipes, and ingredients, go to https://shoptherivercafe.co.uk/ Web: https://rivercafe.co.uk/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/therivercafelondon/ Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/therivercafelondon/ For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iheartradio app, apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com