NEWNow you can listen to Fox News articles!
Joe Pantoliano has three secret weapons when it comes to protecting his mental and physical health.
The Emmy-winning actor, who played Ralph “Ralphie” Cifaretto in 21 episodes of the HBO drama The Sopranos, told Page Six about his healthier lifestyle during an interview at the 30th anniversary of “Bound” during the Tribeca Film Festival.
“You need three things—masturbation, medication and meditation,” Pantoliano admits.
COUNTRY STAR ASHLEY COOKE SPEAKS ABOUT A COMMON HEART CONDITION THAT COULD END HIS LIFE AT ANY MOMENT.
Joe Pantoliano outlined three elements he focuses on for superior mental health. (Gilbert Flores)
Pantoliano continued to indulge and said that while he meditates, he takes an “amazing supplement,” along with “my wife.” [Nancy Sheppard] he cares [the masturbation].”
“You need three things – masturbation, medicine and meditation.”
The couple married in 1994 and have four children together.
HAYDEN PANETTIERE SAYS FILMING ‘NASHVILLE’ IS LIKE LIVING WITH A DOUBLE ADDICTION
Instead of medication, Pantoliano followed doctor’s orders by going outside for daily walks.
Joe Pantoliano and wife Nancy Sheppard have been married for 32 years. (Joy Malone)
“When I went to McLean Hospital, the brain hospital, they told me that 15 minutes of brisk walking is equivalent to 90 milligrams of Prozac, so I walk every day,” he told the outlet.
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
The “Bad Boys” star also discussed his history with addiction, and noted that “success” was once bad before explaining “then sex and then alcohol.”
“Finding things that make this feeling go away,” he said. “I thought that if I could succeed, then this feeling in the pit of my soul would disappear.”
Joe Pantoliano, Edie Falco and James Gandolfini smile together at the New York premiere of TNT’s ‘Come Together.’ (Getty Images)
Pantoliano said instead that “he crashed and burned, he didn’t die, and I think he got my shortcoming; it wasn’t bad mistakes, it was just mental illness.”
CHARLIE SHEEN CALLS DRUGS AND BOOZE A ‘GENTLEMAN’S GAME’ AFTER A KEY MOMENT LEADING INTO A DRINK.
The “Matrix” actor has been open about his struggles with depression and addiction over the years.
LIKE YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE FUN NEWS
“You find something to fill the void – masturbation, meditation – it doesn’t matter. You drink and you go, ‘Ah, this is the feeling I was looking for.’ You’re trying to fill it,” he told Page Six in 2020.
Joe Pantoliano received an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for “The Sopranos” in 2003. (Chris Weeks/FilmMagic)
Her personal challenges with depression inspired Pantoliano to found the mental health charity No Kidding, Me Too!
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM
At the time, Pantoliano admitted that she admires Prince Harry for being a vocal advocate on a difficult topic.
“When you think about William and Harry and what they went through,” he noted, “the trauma that happened to them, traditionally ‘stiff upper lip’ – it doesn’t work that way.”
