Aaron Sorkin thought getting sober would ruin his writing. Then Carrie Fisher called with a message he needed to hear
'I was a late bloomer when it came to drugs,' Sorkin said
Trigger Warning: The article contains information about substance abuse.
Some people would do anything to keep their creativity alive, and that was what American writer and director Aaron Sorkin thought when he was trying to write "A Few Good Men." Sorkin joined Lulu Garcia-Navarro on The Interview (@theinterviewpodcast) on September 21, 2026, to talk about how he got into and out of his cocaine addiction. He was just 25 years old, living in Hell's Kitchen, New York, when he first tried it. Then he spent the next 10 years believing he needed "coke" to write. However, one phone call from a woman he had never met or spoken to changed his life. The video has since been viewed over 280,000 times on YouTube.
'I lost a decade of my life to drugs'
Sorkin told the American journalist that once, he heavily depended on drugs to write. "I wouldn't begin writing until after the sun went down, and my dealer came over," he confessed. During that time, Sorkin used coke as a crutch to write. The surprising part was that he got through his teenage and young adult life drug-free. "I was a late bloomer when it came to drugs," he said, and remembered being 25 years old when he tried it for the first time. Revisiting the night, he recalled that a roommate got a job on a national tour, while he had been trying to write "A Few Good Men."
His horrible writer's block kept him from progressing. So, she casually offered him a blunt, and Sorkin accepted it. Half an hour later, he said, "She laid out some lines on the table, and I said, 'Yes."That was the beginning of his addiction. Sorkin explained, "In my mind, I did the coke and wrote 'A Few Good Men' the next day. That’s how my mind thought of it." It made him believe that coke was his writing solution. He even realized it was bad for him, but he couldn't get himself to stop. Sorkin sadly admitted, "I lost a decade of my life to drugs."
She came to his rescue
Thankfully, an angel named Carrie Fisher, actor and writer, helped restore Sorkin's faith and self-esteem in his writing. Sorkin and Fisher had never met or spoken before, but one day, he received a phone call from her. The first thing she said to him was, "I know you think you can’t write without it. And I’m telling you, you’re going to write better than you’ve ever written before," and Sorkin was convinced. He checked himself into a rehabilitation center and got clean.
But his number one fear was relapsing. "My big fear was going through having an idea, trying to have an idea phase again, and that I was going to get frustrated, and that I know the secret. I know how to get past this. I know the phone number," he explained. Garcia-Navarro then asked about the first time he thought about writing sober, and Sorkin proudly said, "The West Wing pilot."
Illegal stress buster
Sorkin admitted he tried weed and cocaine for the first time out of frustration, but he was just one of the few. Several individuals had done drugs to deal with work stress. A SubstanceAbuseConselor.org survey found that 15% of Baby Boomers used substances daily to deal with job-related stress. 16% used it weekly, while another 12% used it monthly. The most common substance was alcohol (41%), followed by recreational drugs that included cocaine, ecstasy, marijuana, and more (23%). The survey also found that men (29%) were more likely than women (22%) to use substances to overcome work-related stress.
Full points for honesty
Netizens praised Carrie Fisher's kind words for getting Sorkin out of his addiction. They also commended Sorkin for being transparent with his fans. @susanchung5375 commented, "'The West Wing.' I’m so glad you got sober! Imagine the world without 'The West Wing,' and every career that came out of that!" @sridharedala2889 added, "So glad you were able to overcome addiction. I can’t imagine my generation not having had the chance to enjoy all of your incredible work. We’re lucky you kept creating and sharing your talent with the world."
If you or anyone you know needs help with substance abuse, please reach out to 1-800-662-HELP (4357)
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