Dax Shepard was banned from the "Late Night with Conan O’Brien" show in 2004 and he is now sharing details of the "career wreckage-y" moments that sealed his fate.
During an appearance on "The Pursuit of Healthiness with Blake Griffin," the actor admitted he was "blackout" drunk when he was called onto the "Late Night" stage. Shepard has been open about his substance abuse struggles, and he told Griffin that he had hit "multiple" rock bottoms over the years, and the "Late Night" incident was among one of them that affected his career.
Prior to the show, Shepard said he met with producers for a "pre-interview," during which they discussed talking points for the host to bring up on air. He was drunk during the meeting and recalled passing out on his hotel bed only to be awakened by security 20 minutes before his interview with O’Brien, according to USA Today.
"I show up on the show, I don't know what he's talking about," Shepard said. "I can tell he's queuing me up for stories I've told, but I don't know any of the stories. So, I'm just doing what I can to be funny out there and I am a mess."
During his appearance, Shepard notably slurred his words when he walked onto the stage. He then fell over, flipping a coffee table.
"You're paying for that table," O'Brien said as he helped him to his feet.
Shepard told Griffin that it was a disaster.
"Now, the audience dug it. It was fine for the audience. But for him, what a disaster," he said. "I didn't know any of the stories. I broke a coffee table. So I was banned from that show for some years, until I got sober and I got myself back on it and now I’ve been on it a bazillion times, but that was probably the only career wreckage-y thing I did."
Shepard admitted in September last year that he had relapsed into drug abuse. His addiction began with alcohol and cocaine, but after a motorcycle accident he started abusing medication prescribed to ease his physical pain, according to Yahoo! Entertainment.
Oxycotin and Vicodin were his drugs of choice. He had previously cleaned up his act but slipped back into old habits. He admitted to being high when he celebrated his 16th year of sobriety, but eventually came clean to his wife, Kristen Bell. He has since been working on his sobriety and Bell recently revealed that he is now "doing really great."
Related Stories:
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.