Joe Pantoliano, famously known as “Joey Pants,” has developed a unique approach to maintaining mental well-being.
In an exclusive chat with Page Six during the 30th anniversary celebration of the film “Bound” at the Tribeca Festival, he succinctly shared his formula: “You need three things — masturbation, medication, and meditation.”
The former “Sopranos” star elaborated on this philosophy, revealing that he uses a “wonderful supplement” but doesn’t practice meditation. With a touch of humor, he mentioned that his wife, Nancy Sheppard, assists with the “masturbation” aspect.
Rather than relying solely on medication, Pantoliano has found solace in daily walks. He recounted advice from his time at McLean Hospital, known for its focus on mental health: “They told me that a brisk 15-minute walk is equivalent to around 90 milligrams of Prozac, so I make it a point to walk every day.”
Pantoliano also opened up about his past struggles with addiction, highlighting the importance of these daily practices in his journey to well-being.
“Success,” was one of his addictions, he explained, “and then sex and then alcohol.”
“Finding things that make this feeling go away. I thought if I could become successful, then this feeling that was in the pit of my soul would go away.”
Instead, Pantoliano said that he “crashed and burned, didn’t die, and I guess discovered my shortcomings; they weren’t terrible defects, they were, you know, just mental illness.”
The “Matrix” star, 74, has long been open about his mental health struggles.
Last year, he told Page Six that he suffered from depression for close to a decade before his diagnosis and would self-medicate with “seven deadly symptoms.”
“Alcohol, what was available, women, you know, risky behavior, act first and then ask questions second,” he explained.
Pantoliano, who was diagnosed with clinical depression in 2007 and has since written two books about his mental health issues, founded an organization in 2009 called “No Kidding, Me Too!” which aims to remove the stigma surrounding mental health.
Meanwhile, the Emmy winner confessed to being slightly gobsmacked to be celebrating “Bound” all these years after its release.
“I had no idea that I’d be talking to anybody 30 years later. I did not expect to be alive, you know,” he shared. “The fact that this movie is being celebrated. I had no idea that I would be lucky enough.
“I didn’t know how talented the Wachowskis were,” he said, referring to writer/director siblings Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski. “You know, it was a good part, and I wanted to have a good part in a movie, and I was hoping that it would be good, so it was very naive of me.”
The noir thriller also stars Gina Gershon, Jennifer Tilly and Chris Meloni.