The 34-year-old actor - who plays a character addicted to raunchy online clips in new movie `Shame` - finds it "interesting" how the problem is so prevalent in the US, but sex addiction has never been officially recognised as an illness.
He said: "I definitely explored the realm of it. People can stay inside for 72 hours on end watching it. They can`t have sex with their wives because they`re so obsessed with it.
"What`s really interesting about it is that in the US alone, something like 24 million people claim to be sex addicts but the mental-health board hasn`t recognised it as an addiction."
While Michael admits the role isn`t one of his most glamorous, he was attracted to the project because the problems faced by those addicted to internet pornography are "very relevant " to the modern age.
He added: "It`s very relevant to our time. Everything is immediate these days. If you want something, turn on a computer and you`ve got it. If you want to go somewhere, you can jump on a plane and be there.
"It`s all too easy to go somewhere, to eat something, to drink something, to f**k someone. It`s all so easily available."
sections: Celebrities |