On his brand new podcast, actor Tony Kelly talks to a special guest each episode about their own experience with mental health, addiction or recovery. Feeling that it was right to open up about his own story before expecting others to do so, on the shows first episode Tony shares his own story.  You can check that out now on Apple Podcasts.

Tony’s story focuses on his addiction to prescription drugs, which developed after the break up of a relationship at 23 and his subsequent move to New York City to attend film school at the New York Film Academy. While there he was trying to navigate New York's stand-up comedy club scene while also descending further into an opioid addiction.

After an overdose on Good Friday 2010, Tony’s family came and moved him back to Waterford in an effort to get him away from the prescription drugs available in America. Yet, the problem only worsened with Tony taking upwards of 30-40 valium a day in the height of his problems.

He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in a misdiagnosis in 2010 due to the false narrative the prescription medication was giving his brain cause manic episodes and bouts of depression and spent 6 years on lithium unable to get the diagnosis reversed.

The podcast was released this past Sunday, November 24, six years to the day that Tony got clean. The show reached #2 on the iTunes Mental Health charts, and #9 on the Health & Fitness charts within 24 hours on launching.

Since getting clean in 2013, Tony has created the multi-award-winning web series “The Hurler”, played the lead role in Irish feature film “Writing Home”, has just filmed an episode for Season 2 of the TNT Drama/Netflix series “The Alienist” directed by David Caffrey, hosts his own radio show “Sound Out with Tony Kelly” on WLR FM, commentates for Over the Top Wrestling’s On Demand pay per view service, along with many other projects in the pipeline and strings to his bow.