David Soul (Actor)

In December 2001, Soul won a libel case against a British journalist Matthew Wright of the Mirror, who described "The Dead Monkey", a 1998 play in which the actor appeared as the worst the critic had seen. In point of fact, Wright never attended the production. Soul was awarded $29,000 in libel damages and over $200,000 for his legal fees.

Soul reportedly underwent treatment for alcoholism in the 1980s. Although reluctant to speak about it, he told London's Daily Mail Weekend (September 19, 1998): "My life is not compressed into that period 15 years ago when I was arrested for wife beating. I don't have to live there any more, so why do people have to bring it up all the time? I was not a monster but I did have monstrous moments. 'I did seek counselling and I have changed my life a great deal. I have finally accepted that the anger will always be there - for a long time I wouldn't acknowledge its presence. I was a nice guy. My father and my brother are Lutheran pastors so I couldn't possibly be doing those awful things. It wasn't until I acknowledged that I had a problem that I was able to do something about it."