10 Actors Who Actually Got Drunk For Movie Scenes

Acting is a job that looks a lot easier than it really is. It’s undoubtedly a glamorous position, but it’s hard to make it to the top and actors and actresses have to deal with lots of uncomfortable situations. This leads to actors actually drinking before filming, either needing to get into the character of a drunk or calming their nerves before a nude scene. Here’s a wide range of 10 movies that had one or multiple actors actually drinking before or during a scene.

Margot Robbie

The Wolf of Wall Street had just about everything jam packed in a three-hour movie, but Robbie’s nude scenes when she was sleeping with Leonardo DiCaprio’s character may not have happened if it wasn’t for booze. Robbie said that she had to drink tequila to calm her nerves before shooting.

Billy Bob Thornton

Since Thornton’s character in Bad Santa was seen drinking throughout, he actually drank before much of the filming to really sell his character. That led to many of his lines and actions being improvised.

Anna Kendrick

The surprisingly good 2013 film Drinking Buddies was about multiple characters that worked at a local brewery. In one of the scenes, Kendrick’s character actually got drunk when the group was playing a drinking game that she continued to lose at.

Bob Hoskins And John Leguizamo

Admitted in Leguizamo’s autobiography, the box office bomb Super Mario Bros. was a trainwreck of a film to make. Both of the lead actors drank more and more throughout filming, and Hoskins repeatedly admitted in an interview that participating in this movie was the biggest mistake of his career.

Fred Astaire

Before going into one of the famous dancing scenes in Holiday Inn, Astaire took shots of bourbon before each take. It was said that there were seven takes for the scene, meaning Astaire must have been pretty loopy by the time it was over.

Brad Pitt And Edward Norton

A surprise scene sneaked into Fight Club when actors Pitt and Norton got drunk during downtime of shooting. The director saw them hitting golf clubs while drinking and wanted it in the movie. He rolled camera and gave them their lines, and the scene where they’re hitting golf balls and one hits something off screen was born.

Shia LaBeouf

For LaBeouf to get into character in Lawless, he drank moonshine throughout filming of the movie. This actually made other actors and actresses very uncomfortable working with him, including lead actress Mia Wasikowska threatening to quit.

Johnny Depp

In this case, it wasn’t just the actor who was drinking before scenes. Aptly named The Rum Diary, both Depp and director Bruce Robinson drank a bottle of whiskey throughout filming of the movie. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Depp drank in other various acting performances.

Natalie Portman And Mila Kunis

There’s some mixed reporting on what really happened before the Black Swan sex scene between Portman and Kunis. Director Darren Aronofsky said that both of them shared a bottle of tequila while Kunis denied it. Either way, the scene was a success.

Neve Campbell, Denise Richards, And Matt Dillon

Before the terrible sequels, Wild Things was a classic erotic thriller from 1998. It included a hot threesome scene involving Campbell, Richards, and Dillon. Before going into it, all three of them drank to loosen up.