A Boston-based rapper turned A-list actor recently shared a candid essay about his history with substance abuse and violence.
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George Carroll, also known as Slaine, emerged in the early 2000s as a prominent figure in Boston’s hip-hop scene, releasing several mixtapes and the LP Stereotypez. His talent caught the attention of fellow Boston native Ben Affleck, leading to a role in Affleck’s directorial film debut, 2007’s Gone Baby Gone. While this opened doors to further success in music and acting, Slaine was battling personal struggles.
In a recent, vivid essay for Boston Magazine, Carroll detailed his long history with substance abuse and the violence that often accompanies it.
“I came of age in the shadow of Boston’s opioid epidemic, where hip-hop became both my escape and my weapon,” the 48-year-old writes. “The underground drug culture shaped my language, my dreams, and my music. And also, my finances.”
Despite his success in acting, rapping, and his marriage to a sober wife with a new baby, Carroll continued to struggle.
Carroll’s paranoia intensified, making him believe “everyone wanted [him] dead.” He recalled an incident where his fear led to a physical altercation: “When a fan came running for a photo, panic hit first. Once, on Newbury Street, I dropped a guy before he could even speak. Turns out he just wanted to tell me he loved me in The Town [another collaboration with Ben Affleck].”
His wife, Erica, urged him to get sober for their family, but the struggle was immense.
“I tried with every ounce of my being to make that happen, but I just couldn’t do it,” he explained. This led to another stint in detox, which he knew was his last chance. Carroll came out “knowing another relapse would mean I’d be out of the house for good.”
Carroll described hitting “thousands of bottoms” and facing “endless consequences,” but none of it was enough to make him change, as he “still wore the lifestyle like a badge of honor.”
The turning point came when his son spoke to his mother, and Carroll realized that “nothing—not movies, not music—mattered if I didn’t have a relationship with him.” It was then he knew he “had to get sober for my son.”
“I learned what they meant by ‘one day at a time.’ I climbed out of that hole one step, one breath, and one slow day at a time. My body and mind yanked at my soul, begging for booze and drugs. Nights were endless. I was enveloped by doom, praying sleep would save me, and I’d wake up different. ‘This too shall pass,’ I whispered until the mantra numbed me,” the rapper recalled.
“In hindsight, I should’ve been in a medical detox. Upon further review, I should have been dead,” he added.
Rapper and Actor George Carroll Finds Sobriety After Many Years of Struggling
Carroll’s spiritual experience wasn’t a “white-light moment,” but rather “messy and painful, full of tears and hard truths.” He learned acceptance and forgiveness, which helped him find a “new state of grace.” Sober for almost 12 years, he has built an “amazing relationship with my son,” never missing his baseball games.
Though his family with his ex-wife Erica changed, he didn’t lose it; “it just changed shape.” He is now close friends with Erica and her new family, where the kids call him “Uncle George.” He also found love with his fiancée, Kristina, and has become a stepdad to her girls, who “bring so much light into my life every day.”
Now, the rapper and actor is helping others find their sobriety.
Carroll cofounded the Weston treatment center, Charles River Recovery, in 2022, an opportunity he describes as “guided by something greater than me.” He recalls when it was just an “empty shell,” but now it’s “alive with staff and patients.” The facility has “helped more than 7,000 people find a way forward.”
In 2024, he also opened Grand Rising Behavioral Health, which focuses on mental health. With about 170 employees across both programs, he says, “I’m inspired every day by seeing people get well.”
“My name is George, I’m an alcoholic, and I finally found my way back home,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, Carroll’s acting career is flourishing. He most recently appeared in 2025’s The Running Man, alongside Glen Powell.