Billy Idol Says He Missed Out on a “Big Role in the Movie ‘The Doors'” Because of a Motorcycle Accident in the ’90s (Exclusive)

Billy Idol played a character named Cat in Oliver Stone’s 1991 biopic The Doors, in which Val Kilmer played the role of Jim Morrison

Billy Idol explains how he missed out on a bigger role in his film debut.

While speaking to PEOPLE for this week’s issue, Idol, 68, says he was in a motorcycle accident in 1990 in which he broke his leg and wrist Los Angeles Times – caused him to miss filming for a larger role The doorsthe 1991 biopic about the 1960s rock band of the same name.

“There were things related to the high that got in the way of what I really wanted to do,” says Idol. “I wanted to be a big part of it The doors film in 1991 but I couldn’t do it because of the motorcycle accident.

“After I had the accident, I really started thinking, ‘Should I try to move on and stop being a drug addict?’ Little by little I gained a certain discipline,” he adds.

Related: Billy Idol on how becoming a grandfather changed his life: ‘It opens you up emotionally’

The doors The film starred Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison, the band’s lead singer, Kevin Dillon as drummer John Densmore, Kyle MacLachlan as keyboardist Ray Manzarek and Meg Ryan as Morrison’s girlfriend Pamela Courson. Idol actually appears in the film as a character named Cat, marking his first on-screen appearance; He later appeared in the 1995 film Time for crazy dogs and also made a cameo appearance as himself in Adam Sandler’s 1998 classic The wedding singer.

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The doors grossed $34.4 million at the box office when it was released in March 1991. Idol shared a throwback photo on Instagram in October 2023 in which he was seen getting hair and makeup done for his role in the film.

Idol looked back on his career with PEOPLE more than four decades after his second solo album in 1983 Rebel Yellwas released, giving him major rock star status.

“Initially, when I was in the generation of his punk band from the 70s. “We never expected punk rock to become big. So it was quite a surprise that he did really well in England and then gave us a really big start, where I’m still here today.”

For more on Billy Idol, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now.

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