No Can-ada Do! Wes Bentley Not Allowed To Attend Toronto Film Festival Due To Drug Convictions
Sept. 12 2012, Published 2:00 p.m. ET
Wes Bentley’s drug days may be behind him, but the Hunger Games star is still dealing with the wreckage of his past.
The 34-year-old actor, who was arrested for drugs in 2008 and has confessed to once being addicted to heroin, was denied entry into Canada to promote his latest film, The Time Being, at the Toronto International Film Festival, and RadarOnline.com has the exclusive details.
Bentley, who has openly talked about his battle with drug addiction, stars alongside Sarah Paulson, Frank Langella and Ahna O’Reilly in the Nenad Cicin-Sain directed film, which screened on Tuesday night at the film festival, and he hoped to attend with his cast mates.
“Wes really wanted to go to the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of his movie and had his team contact the head of TIFF to try and pull some strings with the government,” a source exclusively revealed to RadarOnline.com.
According to the source, despite the efforts of his camp and the film festival honchos, the Canadian government would not budge because of his drug-related arrest.
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“There was nothing anyone could do. Wes was really upset and felt awful about not being able to partake in the promotion of the film.”
Canada has very strict laws about allowing convicted criminals who are foreigners into the country.
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After becoming a celebrity overnight with his starring role in American Beauty, Bentley turned to drugs and alcohol, leading to his 2008 arrest for possession of heroin and was ordered into a 12-step program. He also amassed a huge amount of credit card debt during the time and was homeless during a brief period.
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