Before & After Photos Of Male Stars Who Ditched Alcohol

Even if you just drink alcohol moderately, you may want to skip your usual bottle of beer or glass of wine for a while. For starters, avoiding alcoholic beverages may help you lose weight. "Alcohol has calories, and depending on what we're drinking, the number of calories can be excessive," psychiatrist Dr. Leslie Heinberg explained to Cleveland Clinic. It may also make your metabolism sluggish, contributing further to possible weight gain. (Read this to learn which is worse for your waistline: beer, wine, or spirits.)

Drinking alcohol regularly may also increase your risk of developing certain types of cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, even light drinkers may end up with a higher chance of being diagnosed with breast, colorectal, and esophageal cancers. Finally, drinking too much alcohol can cause a heart attack. Unsurprisingly, the American Heart Association recommends not drinking at all, even though some studies suggest a correlation between occasional alcohol consumption and slight heart health improvements. Overall, science shows that because of the real effects of alcohol on your body, eliminating it from your diet can have benefits — a fact that these male celebrities can also attest to.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

After trying a Dry January in his mid-20s, actor Tom Holland decided to embrace a life that didn't include any alcohol. As he told Men's Health, he felt that his typical Friday evening drinks with friends were "ruining" his Saturdays. After a year, he realized he never wanted to turn back because "this is the best version of [himself]," as he shared on the "Rich Roll" podcast.

However, Holland admitted on "The Tonight Show" that after he stopped drinking, he realized he lacked beverage options when hanging out with friends (via NBC). Said Holland, "I thought the thing that's missing from the equation for me right now is something that can make me feel included in a restaurant, in a bar." To fill the gap, Holland founded a non-alcoholic beer brand for himself and others like him.

For Calvin Harris, turning away from alcohol was the logical choice following a health scare in 2014. In a now-deleted tweet, Harris reportedly commented that the year ended with "my heart getting restarted in the ER" (via E! News). As of 2018, Harris said he hadn't had another arrhythmia event.

The star's underlying problem turned out to be arrhythmia, a heart condition that causes irregular beats. The occurrence and intensity of arrhythmia can be exacerbated by alcohol use, according to the American College of Cardiology (ACC). A review cited by the ACC showed that having one alcoholic beverage daily increased an individual's chance of irregular heartbeat by 8%.

In a 2013 interview with GQ, actor Bradley Cooper reflected on his decision at age 29 to stop drinking alcohol. He explained that one impetus to become a teetotaler was that he was limiting his career potential by drinking, noting that "it hindered the work."

In "Running Wild With Bear Grylls," Cooper described himself as being fortunate for being able to kick alcohol to the curb for the better part of two decades (via Variety). "I've been very lucky," he admitted.

Saying goodbye to alcohol has meant finding structure for Zac Efron. As he told Elle in 2016, "You get out of life what you put in," which he realized after he quit drinking and completely changed his view on what he wanted his life to look like. Still, Efron is reflective and uncritical of his younger self. "I wouldn't take anything back; I needed to learn everything I did," he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2014.

Over the past decade, Efron has spent his time concentrating on his fitness and health. In a 2019 tweet, he shared that he was "making sure to get the right nutrients [his] body needs, plus working up a good sweat everyday (sic)." In 2022, he talked about different types of diets he follows during a Men's Health video.

Performer Josh Peck rose to fame as a child. In his young adulthood, he realized that his relationship with alcohol wasn't benefitting him. On the contrary, he admitted on "Cancelled with Tana Mongeau" that he was just trying to "catch up on the partying" that he'd missed by being on sets all the time.

In 2022, Peck told OK! that turning away from alcohol has kept him focused in a positive direction since he has a tough time setting up guardrails for himself: "I overdo things." Similarly, he said in a Page Six interview that being a dedicated teetotaler "gives [him] a lot of structure in [his] life."

According to musician Pharrell Williams, he has only ever been inebriated nine times. As he told Paper Magazine (via Cosmopolitan), "Everybody else can do what they want, but that stuff isn't for me."

As of 2026, Williams has an estimated net worth of $250 million, and doesn't plan to stop working anytime soon. His decision to avoid alcohol has likely helped him stay focused on his job. A 2025 study in Science Advances found that, after consuming high doses of alcohol and then going through a long withdrawal period, male rats had trouble making quick decisions. While the study was performed only on animals, it revealed how alcohol could affect human cognition.