Billy Idol Says He Missed a 'Big Part in “The Doors” Movie' Because of '90s Motorcycle Accident (Exclusive)

Billy Idol played a character named Cat in Oliver Stone's 1991 biopic 'The Doors,' which starred Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison

Billy Idol is explaining how he missed out on a larger role in his film acting debut.

While speaking with PEOPLE for this week's issue, Idol, 68, says that his 1990 motorcycle accident — during which he broke his leg and wrist, per the Los Angeles Times — caused him to miss out on filming a larger part for The Doors, the 1991 biopic about the 1960s rock band of the same name.

"There were things about getting high that started getting in the way of what I really wanted to do," Idol says. "I was going to have a big part in The Doors movie in 1991, but because of the motorcycle accident, I couldn’t do it."

"Once I had the accident, I really started to think, 'Should I try and go forward and not be a drug addict anymore?' Gradually, I did achieve some sort of discipline," he adds.

Related: Billy Idol on How Becoming a Grandfather Has Changed His Life: 'It Opens You Up Emotionally'

The Doors film starred Val Kilmer as the band's lead singer Jim Morrison, Kevin Dillon as drummer John Densmore, Kyle MacLachlan as keyboardist Ray Manzarek and Meg Ryan as Morrison's girlfriend Pamela Courson. Idol does appear in the movie as a character named Cat in what amounted to his first onscreen credit; he later appeared in the 1995 movie Mad Dog Time and also made a cameo as himself in Adam Sandler's 1998 classic The Wedding Singer.

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The Doors made $34.4 million at the box office upon its release in March 1991. Idol shared a throwback photo to Instagram in October 2023 that he wrote showed him having hair and makeup applied for his role in the movie.

Idol looked back on his career with PEOPLE more than four decades after his sophomore solo album, 1983's Rebel Yell, was released, which propelled him to major rockstar status.

"Initially when I was in Generation X, we were just thinking it would be like, what, six months, a year, maybe two years. We were just doing it for the love," Idol says of his career-long success, referencing his '70s-era punk band. "We'd never expected punk rock to go big. So it was quite by surprise that it went really mega in England and then gave us a really big kickoff to where I'm still here today."

For more on Billy Idol, read this week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now.

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