Actors Who Put Roles In Jeopardy Because They Were Too Drunk
It's never a good idea to get drunk on the job. These actors learned that the hard way when their inebriated antics cost them valuable screen time
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00:00It's never a good idea to get drunk on the job.
00:03These actors learn that the hard way, when their inebriated antics cost them valuable
00:08screen time.
00:09Sacha Baron Cohen is a comedian recognized and sometimes not recognized for his outrageous
00:15characters that he drops into real-world scenarios.
00:18The English star hosted his own television series, D'Ali G's Show, and has starred
00:23in a collection of dynamic movies, from the children's picture Madagascar to the feature
00:27film adaptation of Les Miserables.
00:30Of course, the comedian's most iconic moments have stemmed from his satirical movies like
00:34Borat and Bruno.
00:36Cohen has made a career out of putting himself into character and not breaking, no matter
00:41how terrible or dangerous things get.
00:44Unsurprisingly, his dedication has put him in some scary situations.
00:48One of his most hilarious stories comes from a segment where Borat was attending a wine
00:53tasting.
00:54Unable to fake it, the actor, who admittedly does not drink often, was forced to drink
00:58more than his fair share of booze.
01:00Cohen admitted to Conan O'Brien,
01:02Thankfully, the persistent comedian managed to wake up in character without missing a
01:19beat.
01:24Clark's star, Jason Mewes, owes an entire career to his good friend, co-star, and director
01:29Kevin Smith.
01:30After he first joined the celebrated director as the J to a silent bob, Mewes made appearances
01:35in nearly every one of Smith's subsequent films.
01:38Unfortunately, Mewes has admitted that he was wildly irresponsible when he started portraying
01:44The foul-mouthed drug dealer J, a character that was written explicitly for him.
01:48Mewes opened up to Metro, saying,
01:50"...I was either drinking or smoking the whole time.
01:53They had to send me home sometimes.
01:55I was drinking Blackberry Brandy.
01:57I passed out on the floor.
01:58I was so drunk I was slurring during a scene with Randall.
02:01So they had to send me home."
02:02Thankfully, Mewes gained better self-control for Smith's sophomore project, Mallrats.
02:08He elaborated,
02:09"...I didn't even drink or anything.
02:11They had Seth Green on standby in case I didn't get the audition."
02:15All these years later, Mewes has turned his life around.
02:19After recovering from addiction, the actor has become a responsible father, and he maintains
02:24a close yet sober relationship with his old friend Kevin Smith.
02:27The two most recently appeared together in Clerks 3, which brought the original character's
02:32stories full circle.
02:34Jaws is inarguably one of the most famous movies in history.
02:38It defined the summer blockbuster, became one of the highest-grossing films of its era,
02:42kicked off Steven Spielberg's career, and is still imitated by genre movies today.
02:47However, what many fans don't know is that one of the movie's most famous scenes had
02:51to be re-shot because one of the film's leading actors was inebriated beyond comprehension.
02:57In a 36th anniversary interview with Ain't It Cool?, Spielberg discussed much of the
03:01behind-the-scenes workings of Jaws, including some secrets about the famous Indianapolis
03:06speech delivered by Robert Shah.
03:08"'You know the thing about a shark, he's got lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eyes."
03:17Spielberg said of the scene,
03:18"'We shot it twice.
03:20The first time we attempted to shoot it, Robert came over to me and said,
03:23"'You know, Steven, all three of these characters I've been drinking, and I think I could do
03:27a much better job in this speech if you let me actually have a few drinks before I do
03:31the speech.'
03:32And I unwisely gave him permission."
03:35Reportedly, Shah went more than a bit overboard.
03:38Spielberg elaborated,
03:39"'I had two cameras on the scene, and we never got through the scene.
03:43He was just too far gone.'
03:44Thankfully, the actor was better prepared the next morning, delivering the momentous
03:48scene as shown in the film in just a few takes."
03:51The 2013 comedy-drama Drinking Buddies is a unique film that was reportedly championed
03:56by alcohol-infused inhibition.
03:59Among Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson, and Anna Kendrick, the dialogue was almost entirely
04:04improvised, with the actors only being required to hit certain plot points along the way.
04:08Meanwhile, the film takes place mostly in a brewery, swimming with beer that the actors
04:12would start drinking early in the day.
04:14Wilde told Off Camera with Sam Jones,
04:16"'We were hammered the entire movie because it was real beer, because beer on that set
04:21was cheaper than water.'"
04:23It makes sense that many of the off-the-cuff scenes, fueled by an abundance of brewskis,
04:28would be unusable, but none struggled more to make the unique film work than Anna Kendrick.
04:33The Pitch Perfect star told Vulture,
04:35"'I was like, I'm super drunk right now.
04:38And so, as soon as the take was over, I had to announce to everybody that I was drunk
04:42at work.
04:43I was horrified by the idea that I was going to be the next troublesome star who got drunk
04:47and started flipping over tables or whatever.
04:49I just tried to sit quietly until I sobered up.'"
04:53Mario & Luigi might be played by Chris Pratt and Charlie Day nowadays, but there was a
04:58time when the iconic characters were confoundingly portrayed by Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo.
05:04In 1993, the live-action Super Mario Bros. film was released to a chorus of scathing
05:09reviews, and its stars were inclined to agree with them.
05:13Bob Hoskins, who brought everyone's favorite red-suited plumber to life, considered the
05:18film a massive disappointment, the one regret he had about his career before his death in
05:232014.
05:24He complained to The Guardian,
05:26"...it had a husband and wife team directing, whose arrogance had been mistaken for talent.
05:32After so many weeks, their own agent told them to get off the set."
05:35Meanwhile, John Leguizamo, who played the one and only Luigi, has since revealed how
05:40much drinking took place on the set.
05:42The failing movie and alcohol-infused talent resulted in many mishaps during production.
05:47Famously, Leguizamo accidentally accelerated a vehicle too abruptly, causing a sliding
05:52van door to break Hoskins' hand.
05:55Even further, Hoskins later told Entertainment Tonight that he was stabbed multiple times,
06:00electrocuted, and nearly drowned during the making of Super Mario Bros.
06:04Mamma Mia!
06:05By all accounts, the late comedic actor John Candy was a class act on the sets of his many
06:15films.
06:16However, the Uncle Buck star did get in some trouble on one of the most unlikely projects,
06:21Splash.
06:23The Tom Hanks romantic comedy about falling in love with a mermaid was the first film
06:26produced under Disney's Touchstone brand, and was concocted by up-and-coming director
06:31Ron Howard.
06:32Still, as the director would recount in Josh Gabb's YouTube series Reunited Apart, there
06:37was one day of filming that almost never made it onto the big screen, and it's all Jack
06:41Nicholson's fault, Howard recollected.
06:44John, totally professional guy, but he's late one day.
06:48He finally pulls up and kind of rolls out of the car and he says,
06:51Ron, I'm so sorry, I'm drunk.
06:54Here's what happened.
06:55I'm telling you the truth.
06:56I'm at the bar, and Jack Nicholson's at the bar.
06:59Jack Nicholson knew my name, Ron.
07:01The allure of sharing a drink with Jack Nicholson was simply too tempting an offer for Candy
07:05to pass up.
07:06With filming continuing on Splash the next morning, Candy paid a price for his late-night
07:11run-in with Nicholson.
07:12Howard remembered him saying,
07:14I never went to bed, Ron.
07:15I never went to bed.
07:18Unforgettable for his time hosting Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live, comedian Norm
07:22McDonald went on to have a successful career in film and television before his untimely
07:27passing.
07:28However, the actor's first appearance in a major motion picture started on wobbly footing
07:33as he joined fellow SNL alum Adam Sandler as the best friend to the titular Billy Madison.
07:38The two actors reminisced about their time making the cult classic comedy during an appearance
07:43on Conan, particularly one scene by the pool.
07:48I say my line, and I think I did it very well.
07:50And I'm like, let me see how Norm ping-ponged this line back.
07:54So there was a little bit of a delay, and I was like, old Norm likes to take his time.
07:59Then I'm waiting longer and going, wow, he's really milking this one.
08:03And a few more seconds later, I noticed old Norm was sleeping.
08:08McDonald was quick to joke that he was taking his method acting a bit too seriously.
08:17So I said, you got some booze?
08:20Once a budding star in Hollywood, Shia LaBeouf became more than just the kid from Even Stevens
08:25when he starred in the first few outings of the Transformers franchise.
08:29Unfortunately, after multiple legal issues and struggles with addiction, LaBeouf is better
08:33recognized today as a movie wildcard.
08:36The actor and filmmaker has been at the center of multiple rumors concerning his on-set behavior,
08:41including an altercation with Alec Baldwin.
08:43Somewhat surprisingly, though, it was LaBeouf's first steps outside the big-budget productions
08:48of Transformers and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull that began to
08:52degrade his reputation.
08:54Lawless was one of the first projects the actor landed after quitting his most popular
08:58franchise in search of more serious work.
09:01LaBeouf's so-called method acting would be challenged by co-star Mia Wasikowska, who
09:07described his drunken behavior as dangerous and scary.
09:10LaBeouf admitted to drinking Moonshine during production, telling NY Daily News,
09:25Things got so out of hand that director John Hillcoat was forced to set a firm boundary.
09:31LaBeouf would not be allowed to appear on-set liquored up any longer.
09:36The essential British comedy troupe Monty Python developed quite a name for themselves
09:40through the 1970s and most of the 80s.
09:43Boasting multiple films and the beloved Monty Python's Flying Circus television show,
09:48the collective of comedians is still celebrated today for their delightfully warped, utterly
09:52distinct style of humor.
09:54Unfortunately, not everything was always on the bright side of life for all the Pythons.
09:58The 2012 film A Liar's Autobiography is an animated semi-biographical comedy about the
10:05late Python star Graham Chapman, best known for starring as King Arthur in Monty Python
10:09and the Holy Grail, and Brian in The Life of Brian.
10:12During the feature, many of Chapman's former co-stars and friends openly speak about the
10:17comedian's over-the-top drinking, reportedly in the habit of finishing off a bottle by
10:21ten in the morning during a particularly ruthless period.
10:26Chapman often caused performances and film shootings to be canceled, postponed, or worst
10:31of all, fail.
10:32Still, the movie is a loving tribute to the late comedian, warts and all.
10:40I didn't know Graham was an alcoholic, did you?
10:44Why was that, do you think?
10:46Former child actor Lindsay Lohan is infamous for her fall from grace.
10:50The once big-name actor faced a plague of addictions, criminal mishaps, and a tarnished
10:55reputation around Hollywood long before she signed on to portray the lead role in the
11:002013 erotic thriller The Canyons.
11:02The film had a minimal budget, but featured celebrated talent behind the cameras, so it
11:07seemed like the ideal make-or-break moment for Lohan's career.
11:11The film's director, Paul Schrader, was quoted as saying,
11:14"'We don't have to save her.
11:16We just have to get her through three weeks in July.'"
11:18Ultimately, Lohan would show that three weeks could feel like eternity.
11:23As reported by The New York Times, the actor built a habit of being inebriated on set,
11:27showing up late or not arriving at all, nearly getting herself fired from the project shortly
11:32before it began.
11:33Most of the filming ended up going on without too much turbulence, but three weeks was a
11:38long stretch for Lohan.
11:39The final days of shooting are filled with rumors of drunk driving, falling over, and
11:44an all-night party with Lady Gaga.
11:47As you might imagine, Lohan's drinking caused many of the scenes in The Canyons to be unusable,
11:52and the movie was released to unfavorable reviews.
11:56If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available.
12:02Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact
12:06SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP, 4357.