Orange is the New Black star Taryn Manning congratulated her 8 Mile co-star Eminem after he shared his sobriety milestone with fans this weekend.
On Saturday, the 46-year-old rapper, born Marshall Mathers, shared a look at a medallion he received to mark 11 years of sobriety. “11 years – still not afraid,” he wrote alongside the photo.
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The medallion has the Roman numeral for 11, “XI,” in the center, as well as the worlds “unity,” “service” and “recovery” written around the triangle. “To thine own self be true” is written on the edge of the medallion.
Eminem shared the photo on Twitter and Instagram, where Manning congratulated him on the milestone.
“Rad dude! Teach me your ways. The most admiration. You did it! And can still write like a fkn beast! Proud,” Manning wrote, reports Us Weekly.
In 8 Mile, Manning played Janeane, the ex-girlfriend of Eminem’s character Jimmy “B-Rabbit” Smith Jr. The film, loosely inspired by Eminem’s own life, earned the rapper an Oscar for Best Original Song for “Lose Yourself.”
More recently, Manning joined Orange Is The New Black as Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Dogget. She also starred on Hawaii Five-0, Law & Order: SVU, Sons of Anarchy and Melrose Place.
Eminem has been open about his struggle with addiction for years, with his rap lyrics often touching on the subject. In a 2015 interview with Men’s Journal, he said he almost died from an accidental overdose.
“In 2007, I overdosed on pills, and I went into the hospital,” the rapper explained. “I was close to 230 pounds. I’m not sure how I got so big, but I have ideas. The coating on the Vicodin and the Valium I’d been taking for years leaves a hole in your stomach, so to avoid a stomach ache, I was constantly eating — and eating badly.”
In 2008, he checked into rehab and began focusing on exercise after he got out.
“When I got out of rehab, I needed to lose weight, but I also needed to figure out a way to function sober,” he continued. “Unless I was blitzed out of my mind, I had trouble sleeping. So I started running. It gave me a natural endorphin high, but it also helped me sleep, so it was perfect. It’s easy to understand how people replace addiction with exercise. One addiction for another but one that’s good for them.”
In a 2015 Details interview, Manning had nothing but good things to say about working with Eminem on 8 Mile in 2002.
“He’s hilarious,” she explained. “He is always cracking jokes and a real goofball. I had a great connection with him, and he added one of our Boomkat songs [‘Wastin’ My Time’] to the 8 Mile soundtrack.”
The seventh and final season of Orange Is The New Black will hit Netflix in the latter half of 2019.
Photo credits: Getty Images
