Armie Hammer took a step back from the spotlight after disturbing allegations were levied against him several years ago, or was more likely forced, given the impact it had on his career.

The actor recently broke his silence on what he considers to be one of the toughest periods of his life, admitting it was a wake up call and describing the impact the ordeal had on his mental health.

“People called me a cannibal and everyone believed them,” Armie said during a recent episode of the podcast Painful Lessons.

“Now I’m able to sort of look at it with a sense of distance and perspective and be like, ‘That’s hilarious.’ They were like, ‘Yep, that guy ate people.’ Like, what? What are you talking about? You know what you have to do to be a cannibal? You have to eat people! … It was bizarre,” he said, referring to claims of having a cannibalism fantasy, only part of the crazy things his former lovers accused him of.

Armie Says He Thought His Life Was Over

Of the toll it took on his mental health, Armie explained, “A neutron bomb went off in my life. It killed off [everything].” He added, “There were a lot of times when I thought, ‘I can’t take this any more.’ And I hit really low, dark points.”

“This is more stress than any human should have to deal with,” Armie said, explaining why he relocated to the Cayman Islands in the aftermath, a destination his family would often vacation at.

“I was standing on the shore and I just looked out at the ocean and thought, ‘Yep, this is it,’ and I just swam out really f**king far. I thought, ‘I’m done. There’s nothing out there for me.’ And I got out really far,” he went on.

“And I was just laying there … [in] a half-a**ed suicide attempt …but I was there and I was in it and it seemed like the only option,” he continued, explaining how desperate he felt in the moment. “And then an image of my kids popped into my head, standing on the shore, saying ‘Where’s dad?’ and I was like I can’t do that to my kids, so I turned back.”

Armie shares two children with his ex-wife Elizabeth Chamber. They quietly divorced in 2020, shortly before the accusations against him came out.

Why Armie Says He’s Grateful For What Happened

Despite being dropped from many projects, and essentially being dejected from Hollywood, Armie says he’s grateful to have gone through the experience.

“Whatever it was that people said, whatever it was that happened, I’m now at a place in my life where I’m grateful for every single bit of it,” he explained. “Why did this happen? What do I need to learn from this situation? And you can take the high road.”

“I pray that everyone who takes the higher road, like I have, will become grateful for their painful lessons,” Armie added.

In early 2021, Armie Hammer faced allegations of emotional abuse, manipulation, and coercion from multiple women, with one woman accusing him of rape, prompting a police investigation. Additionally, leaked messages allegedly from Hammer detailed explicit fantasies involving violence and cannibalism, further damaging his reputation.

He’s yet to re-establish his acting career, but the fact that Armie is doing interviews again could be a sign he’s eying a comeback.