If you have landed a role and it requires you to be drunk, firstly it’s a great idea NOT to actually hit the booze. Instead your ultimate focus is on how to appear not to be drunk rather than emphasis and exaggerate being drunk. time to learn about what it takes to be a good actor playing drunk and about the effects or drinking on our stars.
Look a Little Disheveled
Often because people have alcohol swirling in their system, their brain function has been suppressed, so naturally they aren’t aware of overall personal conduct. Often their hair is a little uneven, they may even have food or drink droplets on their clothing. For authentic clothing, you’ll need to think about what you will look like to the audience.
Red Eyes
Often people who are drunk have red or bloodshot eyes. When a large quantity of alcohol enters the system, tiny blood vessels on the surface of the eye (called the sclera) get dilated, causing the red, inflamed appearance. Heavy drinking also depletes the body’s reserve of nutrients needed for eye health, which can lead to a condition known as alcoholic optic neuritis.(Kinglask.com).
So in other words if you want to appear drunk, and if in a close up you’ll need to make sure your eyes look a little red. You can keep your eyes open until you want to blink, which increases the need for tears to emerge. This will make you look glassy eyed and somewhat alcohol imparied.
You can always rub your eyes somewhat vigorously, which may induce tiny traumas to your eyes thereby giving you red, glassey-eyed look. This technique might be okay for a quick film shoot, but try not to do this every night of a stage performance. Keep the trauma to a minimum.
Keep Your Composure
Many amateur actors, don’t realise that drunk people actually try to act sober when they are in fact drunk. Their brain function is suppressed, so they often become hyper focused on one thing, while going very slowly at the same time. They will even be unaware of what other people are seeing. Imagine a sloshed individual trying to get the keys into the car door by concentrating way too hard.
Good actors don’t tend to over-do the act of being inebriated. However, they will likely reveal the desired body language and over-all demeanour about their current state, such as a slightly slurred voice, eyes that are ‘too’ focused on the listener, the voice can be a little louder than normal, they walk slower than normal, but are more deliberate. These are some tell tale signs of a drunk person looking sober.
As an actor you need to get inside the head of an inebriated person and or, try and re-call what it was like (if you’e been drunk before).
A working Hollywood actor says: “Most actors will tell you that the secret of playing slightly drunk is to approach it as you do in your personal life,” says Mikkelsen, “which is to try your best not to appear drunk. You move a fair bit slower, you’re more cautious, a little more precise.” The next stage of drunkenness is when “nobody’s listening anymore, it’s just people talking very, very loud”. And that’s another reason why actors should stay sober when making a film: “Otherwise you wouldn’t listen to your director, so it wouldn’t work at all.”
check out my next read on Theater Etiquette, for Theater Etiquette for Actors. Dos and Don’ts in the theater
In short, most actors who are worth their weight in gold do not drink to get intoxicated and then act. They instead act their role. They will research the effect of alcohol and re-enact the role using these skills. Remember most actors know that to play a role like this, you need to act as if you are actually sober.
If you are a new actor and believe that you need to drink in order to get more ‘confident’ you are going in the wrong direction. Actually on the whole those who drink because they feel it gives them Dutch courage, find that their overall acting ability is impaired and they aren’t giving their best with other cast and crew members. Don’t be ‘that’ person.
Of course there are caveats to this unstated rule.
Why Actor’s Getting Sloshed in a Role Is a No No
Generally because you are so impaired physically and mentally, you are unable to fully function as a ‘good’ actor. The effects stay with you for hours and will not only impair an actors’ ability to perform, but could impact the crew on the set of filming as well. There are actors who have gotten so intoxicated on the set, that they couldn’t carry out their role properly. They had to come back to the set the next day grovelling for their job back.
It’s also a bad idea because actors think they know what they are doing, but in reality they are not fully cognizant of how they are appearing to their audience, being on stage or on screen.
Fellow actors may dislike acting with those who are impaired, because they know they will likely not have actors who are fully committing to the scene. It will almost be as if they are acting with a person and no-one is home.
Actors Who Got Intoxicated While Filming
Daniel Radcliff who played Harry Potter in the same named Movie Series, had a major drinking problem during filming the latter Movies. In many of the scenes, he was partially or fully inebriated. He did so to feel more confident in his role. The pressure of being the lead in a Movie franchise such as this was huge for him and drinking was a way he thought, to cope. It isn’t overly apparent which scenes he was intoxicated while filming, but he has stated that he is not overly proud of those moments. He now proudly states his sobriety for all to see.
Neve Campbell in the movie ‘Sweet Wild Things,’ had to act a very steamy pool scene with another actress ‘Denise Richards.’ Because Neve had not kissed a female before, she decided to become intoxicated to cope with the acts she was asked to perform. Richards also drank for similar reasons for the scene. No-one from the audience’s point of view could tell they were affected, mainly due to the filming angles and magic of editing.
Natalie Wood, a Hollywood A-list Acting legend, got sloshed in the movie, ‘This Property is Condemned,’ where she played opposite Charles Bronson. She played a women who was inebriated flirting with another woman’s man, however, she actually was inebriated in this particular scene. Many people raved about her acting qualities, possibly a little method acting was also involved here.
Celebrities Ruined By Alcohol
There are a number of actors where alcohol has been a very negative effect on their careers and home lives.
Ben Affleck hit the booze regularly during the height of his fame and especially after his divorce from his famous then wife Jennifer Garner. He has attended rehabilitation twice before going for a third time for alcohol addiction. Affleck was very open about this addiction problems and has been snapped by paparazzi many times entering and leaving rehab.
Daniel Radcliffe famous for his portrayal of Harry Potter in the same named enterprise, hit the booze regularly while on set. He said he did it to counter the feelings from being instantly famous and young at the time. He couldn’t handle the pressure. He felt constantly scrutinized and wanted to turn away from the public gaze. He has since learned different copying techniques and has been open about his experiences with media.
Zac Efron also confessed that being a celebrity at such a young age became unbearable and also got on a constant basis. He entered rehabilitation twice at a young age when filming Rogen’s Neighbors. During his time in Hollywood he has attended many onset and offset parties which also contributed to his addiction behaviors. He believes that alcohol is a never ending struggle. He has attended Alcoholics Anonymous and has been relatively successful with it so far.
Actors Who Don’t Drink
Most people think it is quite normal that most actors drink, but did you know that there are many actors and celebrities who don’t drink at all. The list: J Low, Natalie Portman, Naomi Campbell, Shania Twain, Tyla the Creator, Kim Kardashian, Ruma Willis, Tyra Banks, Andy Murray, Blake Lively, Leona Lewis, Pharrell Williams, Sarah Silverman, Chris Martin, Kathy Griffin, Jennifer Hudson, Gillian Jacobs, Ann Hathaway to name a few.
For various reasons these folk have decided that drinking is not for them, so you can assume that they would be fully cognisant and have all their thinking faculties at the ready.
In a Nutshell
There are many reasons why some celebrities choose to get under the influence for roles on stage or scene. Some have done it to cope with the pressures of filming and being a star. If you are wanting to drink to cover inadequacies or get Dutch courage, think again. We can see from the personal lives of many of the stars that drinking alcohol in excess or abusing it hasn’t worked out for them. Working sober and playing drunk is a skill which can be done, but best done while sober.
