Daniel Baldwin: 'The Addict Is a Horrible Person'

July 11, 2007 -- Daniel Baldwin is a celebrity, a brother, a father and a son. He is also a drug addict.

The actor gave "Primetime" unprecedented access as he struggled for his life. He was addicted to smoking cocaine, and with legal, financial and health problems breathing down his neck, he allowed cameras to track his successes and failures at a $50,000-a-month rehabilitation center in Malibu, Calif. (http://www.maliburecovery.com/)

Addiction is a powerful, progressive disease that touches 25 percent of American families, afflicts all classes, races and genders and can bring even the strongest to their knees.

What lessons does this 46-year-old addict share with others who suffer from the same disease? What steps will he take as he tries to help himself and offer advice to others?

Go behind the scenes with Daniel Baldwin Tuesday, July 17, on "Primetime: Family Secrets" at 10 p.m. EDT

Baldwin likes to draw a distinction between himself and the disease.

"There's the person that's the addict, and then there's the person that's who you are," he said. "I prefer to say that I am a beautiful person. But the addict is a horrible person. The addict will screw you over and lie to you and do all kinds of things."

But before he can get better Baldwin will need to examine the wreckage of his past and search for healthy alternatives to using drugs when he leaves the safe confines of rehab.

Along the way he will examine his journey -- from starting as one of six rough-and-tumble children of a school teacher, to the excess and celebrity of being a Hollywood star, to the lows of being arrested in cheap motels and locked up as a common criminal. When failure is the norm, hope and taking his recovery one day at a time are all he has left.

Will this attempt be different for Baldwin? Maybe, because he's ready to ask for help.

"I pray on my knees and I say, 'Please forgive me for what I've done, give me another chance,'" Baldwin said.