The legendary icon tells his story-a tale of art, passion, commitment, addiction, as intense and hypnotic as the man himself.

In a career spanning five decades, Nick Nolte has endured the rites of Hollywood celebrity. Rising from obscurity to leading assignments and Oscar nominations, he continues to be both celebrated and vilified in the press; survived marriages, divorces, and a string of romances; was named the “Sexiest Man Alive” by People journal; and suffered general public humiliation more than his drug and about Rebel: My Life Beyond your Lines alcohol problems, including a drug-fueled trip straight down a “lengthy road of nothingness” that ended in arrest.

Despite these fluctuations, Nolte has continued to be accurate to the craft he loves, portraying a diverse range of characters with his trademark physicality and indelible gravelly tone of voice. Currently 35 when his overall performance in the 1976 miniseries Affluent Man, Poor Guy launched him to stardom, Nolte by no means learned to play by Hollywood’s guidelines. A rebel who defies goals, an obsessive method actor who’ll go to extremes for a role (he resided among the homeless to get ready for Down and Out in Beverly Hillsides), Nolte is motivated more by edgier, even more personal projects than by container office success. Today he is clean but still driven, juggling several upcoming functions and raising his young daughter.

A guy who refuses to hide his mistakes, Nolte now delivers his most uncovering performance yet. His disclosing memoir gives a candid, unvarnished close-up go through the man, the career, the adores, and the life span.