Denise Brisbane on ABC’s hit drama Big Sky might be a fan-favorite character, but the role is even more important to the actress, who calls it a “rebirth” following a decade-long hiatus from Hollywood to deal with personal struggles. While taking a break from acting, the single mom raised her two kids while battling addiction. “When you’re active in your disease, you’re the identified problem. The minute you go into recovery … the day you say I want to change, you become the identified possibility,” the 58-year-old sister of Michelle Pfeiffer explained to Page Six in an exclusive interview.  The Cybill star said taking time away from the industry provided her with a “reality check” that allowed her to “submerge” herself in the “bowels of the real world.” She also credited her family’s support with overcoming the addiction, getting candid about the difficulties of reaching out to loved ones for help in the thick of it. “At that time, my answer was [that] I was already looking for 800- [and] anonymous [helpline] numbers that I was going to call. I just didn’t know how to ask for help,” she admitted, adding, “I was kneecapped with shame, I was kneecapped with embarrassment, I was kneecapped with the feeling of feeling like a failure because I couldn’t stop and I didn’t know how to stop. I kept trying but I couldn’t do it, which just makes you feel like s–t about yourself.” For others who are going through the same thing, Pfeiffer explained that the “support you’re going to get is so beautiful,” but only if you are ready and willing to accept it. “It saved my life,” she said. During the interview, she also dispelled rumors that her famous sister contributed to the addiction, raving that having Michelle in her life was a “plus, not a minus,” and touched upon her working with Reba McEntire, who has a significant role in the show’s third season. “When I met her, I turned into this crazy weird fan,” she admits of the country singer, who turned out to be a fan of her work as well. Big Sky airs Wednesdays on ABC. More News:

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