Top 10 Actors Who Were Actually WASTED During Their Famous Scenes

WatchMojo

Hollywood's not-so-secret secret: some iconic scenes were filmed under the influence! Join us as we count down the most memorable movie moments where actors traded sobriety for liquid courage. These performers gave new meaning to "method acting" when they decided a little intoxication might enhance their performance.

Transcript

00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the thespians that were

00:08under the influence of a substance while practicing their craft.

00:15It's perhaps not the first thing the audience thinks about when they watch a movie love

00:27scene.

00:28Do the actors in question feel uncomfortable if their partner in the scene happens to be

00:31married?

00:32Well, Jennifer Lawrence certainly did, during the filming of the science fiction film Passengers.

00:41The actor reportedly was so nervous about shooting her love scene with Chris Pratt, who

00:45was then married to Anna Faris, that she needed a little bit of liquid courage, but not before

00:49taking some drinks and even calling her mother for moral support.

00:55There's a lot for fans to uncover upon subsequent rewatches of David Fincher's adaptation of

01:12Fight Club.

01:13For example, those little clues concerning how the relationship between the narrator of Fight

01:16Club and his compatriot, Tyler Durden, might not exactly be what we think it is, on the

01:22surface.

01:23Meanwhile, the actual, on-set relationship between Edward Norton and Brad Pitt can be seen when

01:26the pair are golfing.

01:34The pair reportedly got along pretty well during production, which led to some drinking, which

01:38eventually led to them shooting golf balls at catering trucks.

01:42Fincher, to his credit, filmed Pitt and Norton, and the rest is history.

01:49It's a cinematic cliché that's well-worn at this point, that a group of women gathering

02:05together to sing and dance all sans the company of their significant others.

02:09Gale time, for lack of a better phrase.

02:11Practical Magic had a good example of this trope, while its 1998 release date ensured that

02:15the bloom wasn't yet off the rose when it came to these sorts of estrogen-fueled shenanigans.

02:28Emphasis on shenanigans, because it's since been revealed within outlets such as People

02:32Magazine that at least Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock were legitimately wasted during the

02:36midnight margarita scene.

02:38As for their co-stars, well, with all of that alcohol flying around, we're willing to bet

02:41that they were also having fun.

03:01We would admittedly not like to remember too much about all of the downtime we had during

03:04the global pandemic a few years ago.

03:06That said, creative types in Hollywood did manage to brainstorm some decent ideas to keep

03:10everybody busy.

03:11Josh Gad's Covid-era look-back at classic movies brought together casts of films like

03:16Splash from 1984.

03:18Director Ron Howard revealed to Gad how John Candy had a chance meet-up with Jack Nicholson

03:22on the way to set one day.

03:30One drink led to another, and the typically reliable Candy shot the racquetball sequence

03:34in Splash severely under the influence.

03:51Speaking of Jack Nicholson, this Hollywood legend is one of the OGs when it comes to performing

03:55a classic scene while enjoying a certain state of mind.

03:59Nicholson's character of George Hanson possesses a fondness for alcohol.

04:02Nicholson also got stoned on screen, which meant that Nicholson did the same.

04:17The actor told Time magazine in 2012 that, quote, he smoked about 155 joints during the

04:24production of Easy Rider.

04:25And you know what?

04:26It certainly shows in the final product.

04:28It looks like a legitimately wild time.

04:32You know what?

04:33Well, I sure could use that.

04:34Yes.

04:35We all love a little bit of bad behaviour sometimes.

04:47Bad Santa is a movie for those kinds of people, starring Billy Bob Thornton as a scandalous mall

04:52Santa Claus with a knack for foul language and even fouler behaviour.

04:56Thornton's performance of a highly inebriated Saint Nick was bolstered by some real-life boozing,

05:01that included both wine and beer before the final take was over.

05:11Bad Santa, as a result, feels like a legitimately scumming movie, anchored by Thornton's sleazeball

05:16character that's just shy of hopeless with a touch of skid row charm left intact.

05:21And since we've no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

05:28Nicolas Cage, leaving Las Vegas.

05:37Nicolas Cage won the Academy Award for Best Actor thanks to this portrayal of a screenwriter

05:41on the brink of self-destruction.

05:43Cage's character of Ben Sanderson has come to Las Vegas with one very specific intention,

05:48to drink a fatal amount of alcohol.

05:50The actor's method approach to this role essentially meant that Cage was going to be

05:54drinking real alcohol during many of the scenes here in leaving Las Vegas.

06:10This included one where Cage freaks out in a casino and is ejected by security, hence why

06:15the end result feels so legitimately crazy and chaotic.

06:35There's always a lot of moving parts behind any movie scene, from complicated setups to

06:39elaborate lighting.

06:40This stress can often go double for sex scenes too, requiring intimacy, coordinators to ensure

06:45that everything is going as smoothly as possible for the actors.

06:48Or, you could do what Margot Robbie did in The Wolf of Wall Street, get liquored up prior

06:52to shooting that big love scene with Leonardo DiCaprio.

07:00Some shots of tequila were reportedly all it took for Robbie to feel comfortable enough to

07:04shoot what we eventually saw on screen, a brave and bold bit of nudity from a young actor

07:08fresh to American cinemas.

07:24We all have that one friend who can convince us to head out on a work night.

07:28Famous people just have famous-er friends than us, and go to parties with even cooler

07:32people who keep them out all night before a movie shoot.

07:35Harry Fisher and Harrison Ford were reportedly hanging out with Monty Python member Eric

07:39Idle and the Rolling Stones prior to shooting their scenes in Cloud City for The Empire Strikes

07:44Back.

07:52Fast forward to Han and Leia's arrival at Lando Calrissian's facility, and you have

07:56two actors who are essentially still feeling the effects of one long crazy evening.

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08:21The Filipino shooting locations of Apocalypse Now weren't exactly the most hospitable for

08:35the cast and crew back in 1979.

08:38Martin Sheen's struggles with substance use disorder were also a big part of the actor's

08:41life during this time, as evidenced by this striking sequence that was shot on Sheen's

08:46birthday.

08:56The actor is heavily intoxicated while filming a scene where his character, Captain Benjamin

09:00L Willard, angrily smashes a mirror and hurts his hand.

09:04This was no special effect, but simply the product of Sheen being legitimately drunk while

09:09shooting the scene.

09:14So, how different do you think these takes could have been had the actors been sober on

09:18set that day?

09:19Let us know your alternate history theories in the comments below.

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