'Bill & Ted' star Alex Winter says he would not have been okay if he hadn't escaped Hollywood spotlight

Alex Winter discusses surviving sexual abuse during his teenage Broadway and film career, explaining how trauma led him to leave Hollywood before returning to star with Keanu Reeves.

Christina Dugan Ramirez is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. 

For most of his teenage years, Winter — who made his Broadway debut at 12 years old — worked tirelessly both onstage and off. In 1987, he landed his breakthrough memorable role as Marko in the vampire film "The Lost Boys," and two years later, played Bill S. Preston in the comedy "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure."

He moved to Los Angeles a year short of graduating from NYU film school and began shifting his focus to behind-the-scenes work – including directing music videos and commercials – and co-writing various TV hits.