For years, Christopher Lawford suffered a serious addiction, which he discusses candidly in his book Symptoms of Withdrawal. Although addiction affected many members of his family, Lawford is the only one to discuss it openly in public. He currently travels around talking about addiction and recovery, and calls himself “an activist in the recovery movement.”
Addiction and Recovery
Lawford’s experience with addiction and recovery has had an enormous effect on who he is and how he perceives people and attitudes. He contemplates the enormous effect his book has had on him. “It’s interesting because I wrote a book about my life, and I explored a lot of the things that I’ve carried with me for many, many years - the legacy and family and addiction and all the stuff that I wrote about, my breakup with my kids and all of that stuff. And so that was an enormous thing.”
Chris makes a conscious effort to be a good father, although he admits he is somewhat of a disciplinarian. Not having his own father actively involved in his life when he was young, he wants to make sure his children have a closer relationship with him. He says in his book and reiterates in this interview that his role model for fatherhood was his uncle Bobby Kennedy, who Chris explains, “was very engaged with his kids and very active with his kids, so I thought being active and being engaged and focused on your kids is the way to do it. And certainly that’s part of it. But the other thing is, I think, to be an authentic person to your kids too. I’m definitely my kids’ father, but I would like to be a human being to them.”
A Member of the Kennedy Clan
Chris is an actor like his famous father, Peter Lawford. However, if having a famous father isn’t enough, Chris also has his mother’s famous family as part of his heritage. Patricia Lawford is a Kennedy, and that says it all. No matter how successful he gets, Lawford will never be out of the shadow of his family, which does have an effect on him although he has made peace with it. “It’s important to take that in context of all of it. Yeah. It does bother me. It has been difficult for me to maintain an identity that’s outside of that. On the other hand, I get a lot of benefit from that too.” With two famous parents, many doors have been opened to him that might not have been if he had been simply Christopher Doe. He philosophizes about his lot in life. “There’s good and there’s bad. And everybody’s born with some stuff, whatever it is. I mean my stuff just happens to be my stuff and so like everything else in the world, there’s good and there’s bad to it.”
“I come from a lot of accomplishment and success and there’s an enormous amount of good will out there towards me and my family, based on where I come from. I mean many more people who read my book responded to it from a place of loving my family and loving where I come from, than those that didn’t.” He has had enormous success with his book, which propelled him to the forefront of public consciousness.
The Fall and Rise of Christopher Lawford
It is evident while talking to him that he feels grateful to be able to do what he is doing. “I was born with the American Dream fulfilled to some degree and I squandered it all and I got a second chance.” He says, “I run around the country talking about stuff that matters to me and people actually come to listen, so I couldn’t imagine anything better. I never say that because I would short change myself, but if you would have told me three years ago I would have written a best selling book, I would have told you were crazy. Or that I would be working with Anthony Hopkins in a movie. So anything’s possible.”
Having come through a difficult childhood, family tragedies, and addiction, Christopher Lawford now has his feet planted firmly on the ground. Sitting relaxed in the chair wearing a dark suit with an open collar, Chris is a striking man – tall with salt and pepper that is mostly gray at the temples - and he does not dodge any questions. He has a self-confidence that is electrifying, and he is willing to confront any question, whether it is about his family, politics, his life, or his career. He is happy and healthy and excited about life. Chris is grateful and humble about his own life. He knows he has been granted a second chance and is firmly grasping onto that with both hands. He is a survivor.
Source: Two interviews with writer Francine Brokaw in 2006
Read the article Christopher Kennedy Lawford - The Actor
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