Can alcohol be used during filming to strengthen an actor's performance?

Question

Many times I have noticed overly realistic drunk/anger/agony performances, which made me wonder if alcohol was actually used to relax the actor a bit and let them "spit it out" in a more natural way?

Answer 1

There's a story that applies here. On the set of Marathon Man (1976), Dustin Hoffman reported for work one day disheveled and dirty. He explained to his co-star, Sir Laurence Olivier, that he had stayed up all night and lived on the street, thus using the Method technique of "living the part" (which required him to have been awake all night).

Olivier replied, "My dear boy, have you ever tried acting?"

The same goes with alcohol. You can imbibe before a take OR you can act as though you were intoxicated. Of course, if many re-takes are needed, one can get so drunk that you forget your lines.

BTW, in my opinion most drunk scenes are over-acted -- yet they sometimes win Academy Awards, as was the case with Nicolas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas (1995).