William McNamara Opens Up About Sobriety, Animal Activism and Life After Hollywood

Actor William McNamara says he left Hollywood behind after struggling with drug addiction and is now focused on animal rights activism.

In an interview with The Los Angeles Inquisitor, the 61-year-old actor said his career suffered because of his long-term drug problems despite appearing in more than 165 film and television projects after his breakout role in 1988’s Stealing Home with Jodie Foster.

McNamara said he has now been sober for 21 years. After stepping away from acting, he became deeply involved in animal rights work, including documenting dolphin killings in Japan. Footage from that trip later contributed to the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove. He also worked with Alison Eastwood on Animal Intervention for National Geographic.

The actor said he spent much of his own money on activism and believed he could easily return to acting later, but found that difficult as he got older. Financial struggles followed, and at one point he lived in his car in Texas with his pit bull, Boo, while the dog underwent cancer treatment.

“I stayed alive for her,” McNamara said about his dog.

McNamara is now working on a self-funded autobiographical series, The Trouble With Billy, streaming on Red Coral Universe. The show draws from difficult experiences in his life and features actors including Billy Baldwin, Alison Eastwood and the late Tom Sizemore.