<p>The 'Machine Gun Preacher' star, who is now a teetotal, was a troublemaker in his early twenties and says the challenges of acting helped him grow up after he was fired from his law training scheme, Femalefirst reported.<br /><br />"I'd gone from a 16-year-old who couldn't wait to grasp life to a 22-year-old who didn't care if he died in his sleep.<br /><br />"I know what it's like to feel crazy, lost, aggressive, fearful and to be screaming out at the world that you have no use or no purpose. If I hadn't found acting, it seems very easy to say that I'd be dead but yes I'd be dead. But to find that I could act, make a living out of it and challenge myself, tell stories, affect people," he said.<br /><br />Butler, 42, admitted he is looking forward to the day when he has more in his life than just work.<br /><br />"Work's great, but I want to get to that stage where I'm happiest when I'm not working so that I can work less. In the last few months I've been riding a Harley through the southern states, learning to fly helicopters. I've been playing football and learning to surf," he added.</p>
<p>The 'Machine Gun Preacher' star, who is now a teetotal, was a troublemaker in his early twenties and says the challenges of acting helped him grow up after he was fired from his law training scheme, Femalefirst reported.<br /><br />"I'd gone from a 16-year-old who couldn't wait to grasp life to a 22-year-old who didn't care if he died in his sleep.<br /><br />"I know what it's like to feel crazy, lost, aggressive, fearful and to be screaming out at the world that you have no use or no purpose. If I hadn't found acting, it seems very easy to say that I'd be dead but yes I'd be dead. But to find that I could act, make a living out of it and challenge myself, tell stories, affect people," he said.<br /><br />Butler, 42, admitted he is looking forward to the day when he has more in his life than just work.<br /><br />"Work's great, but I want to get to that stage where I'm happiest when I'm not working so that I can work less. In the last few months I've been riding a Harley through the southern states, learning to fly helicopters. I've been playing football and learning to surf," he added.</p>