10 Actors Who Only Gave Great Performances Because They Got Drunk

6. Jack Lemmon - Days Of Wine And Roses

Jack Lemmon had a long career as a comic actor - he's fondly remembered for the likes of Some Like It Hot and Grumpy Old Men - but some of his straight dramatic parts are undeniably heartbreaking to watch. One of the most memorable performances Lemmon ever gave can be found in Days Of Wine And Roses, and it's in no small part down to the fact that Lemmon knew full well from experience how to play a drunk. Throughout the filming of Days Of Wine And Roses, Lemmon and director Blake Edwards drank so heavily that they were prompted after the shoot to seek help and go sober once and for all. Lemmon's binging with the director is directly reflected on-screen, in a performance that earned him his fourth Oscar nomination, an early screen portrayal of true alcoholism (minus the cartoonish aspect Hollywood had so often lent it up to that point).