Aaron Sorkin has revealed it was the late actress Carrie Fisher who helped him beat his cocaine addiction.
The West Wing creator spoke candidly with The Hollywood Reporter about becoming addicted to the substance after his success with A Few Good Men.
According to Sorkin, he put off getting clean as he thought he would not be able to write without the stimulant.
However, it was a phone from Carrie Fisher, who was at the time a virtual stranger, that made him reconsider and seek help for his addiction.
"The problem with drugs is that they work, right up until the moment that they decimate your life," he said.
"[Carrie said,] 'I know you think you're not going to be able to write, but I promise your writing is going to get better'."
Following Carrie's advice, Sorkin stopped taking the substance and will celebrate 17 years of being drug-free in the coming April.
Sorkin's directorial debut Molly's Game comes out in January.
The movie stars Jessica Chastain and tells the true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game and became an FBI target, and Sorkin feels the pressure to make the movie a success.
"Whether it's an episode of television, a movie or a play, I always feel like my life depends on writing something good," he said, "and in a very real way, it does."
Molly's Game is in cinemas 5 January, 2018.
