After divorcing actor Antonia Banderas in June after an 18-year marriage, Melanie Griffith recently told Female First that she is excited about what lies ahead for her.

“Over the last years, I’ve devoted myself to my family, and that was it. But now, I’m completely free. So I’m determinate to do only what I want from now on, and no one is going to stop me.”

The celebrity couple cited “irreconcilable differences” for the reason for their divorce, but both agreed not to go into further details with the public.

“I have an agreement with Melanie, a pact,” Banderas told a Spanish website. “We have agreed to not talk or comment our divorce at all. That’s our deal and, therefore, I’m not going to say a thing about her.”

Now Griffith is looking to new possibilities, including her role in the new film, Thirst. In the 25-minute short inspired by true events, Griffith plays Sue, a woman suffering from alcohol addiction.

“I’m an alcoholic in a recovery phase, and I’ve been struggling with this problem for the last five years,” Griffith said. “So, obviously, I felt a special connection with this character.”

After her divorce from actor Steven Bauer in 1987, Griffith admitted to having problems with alcohol and cocaine and entered rehabilitation.

“What I did was drink myself to sleep at night,” she said. “If I wasn’t with someone, I was an unhappy girl.”

Griffith entered Cirque Lodge for rehab once again in 2000 for painkiller addiction, then again in 2009 for what her publicist called “part of the routine plan.”

Then, after several years without landing a major film role, Thirst, which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival this month, came along.

Griffth said, “I had a reputation with people in my industry as being a wild child, being a drug addict and an alcoholic. After being sober for five years, this part comes along and felt like if I could act it out and do it — not for anyone else, just for me — to do that harsh of a life of an alcoholic, I would be able to get it out. I did stop before I got to that point, but I could’ve easily been Sue.”

Now the 57-year old is staying active and enjoying life.

“I’m going to do a lot of things. I’m going to do Pippin on Broadway in January. It’s not about my career now. It’s just about finding great work and having a good time,” Griffith said. “I’m [also] going to do a movie with Bob Saget. This is a really out-there, silly comedy.”

Dakota Johnson, daughter of Griffith and first husband, Don Johnson, can be seen in the upcoming film adaptation of 50 Shades of Grey.

Image via YouTube