Olivia Wilde Was ‘Hammered’ Filming ‘Drinking Buddies’ Because They Drank Real Beer on Set

Some actors prefer method acting, where they submerge themselves in the character they’re playing, so they feel like they actually become that character. Olivia Wilde and her fellow actors in the movie Drinking Buddies took an original approach to this concept. They didn’t just pretend they were drinking during filming; they actually enjoyed more than a few alcoholic beverages. In fact, they admit they were pretty drunk on set.

Olivia Wilde starred in ‘Drinking Buddies’

In 2013, Olivia Wilde co-starred in Drinking Buddies with Anna Kendrick, Jake Johnson, and Ron Livingston. According to IMDb, it was a unique movie in many ways. For instance, the actors usually didn’t have any idea what they would be filming on any given day. They would simply show up, ready to find out the plan for that day’s work. 

There’s a good reason that the process was so nebulous; the movie didn’t have a script. All the cast and crew had to guide them was a rough description of the plot and a timeline of events. From there, the actors were expected to improvise the rest, from their lines to their actions.

This is a fairly tall order, but there was another challenge that made their task even harder. The plot called for them to drink a lot of beer during their scenes, and most of the time, those drinks were the real thing. 

‘We were hammered the entire movie,’ said Wilde

BuzzFeed reports that the actors found an effective way to get into character, based on where most of the shooting took place. When their characters enjoyed a drink, the actors indulged for real.

“We were hammered the entire movie because it was real beer,” Wilde explained, “because beer on that set was cheaper than water, because we were shooting in a brewery.”

Kendrick agreed with her fellow co-star, describing one day when the alcohol even took her by surprise.

“During a scene where I’m playing cards with Jake (Johnson), they gave me real beer, and I didn’t realize it! And so every time I lost, I was pounding beer, and I didn’t realize it was real until halfway through the take,” Kendrick said. “I was like, ‘I’m super drunk right now!'”

Although drinking on the job wouldn’t work for most people, it seemed to help the actors turn in performances they were proud of. 

Olivia Wilde has expanded her career to include directing

Drinking Buddies was only one stop in Wilde’s ever-expanding career. She started acting when she was just a teen. She appeared in some high-profile TV shows in the early 2000s, including The O.C. and House. She soon made the transition to movies, starring in films such as Tron: Legacy, People Like Us, Love the Coopers, and Meadowland. 

Recently, Wilde has moved into directing films, with the 2019 movie Booksmart. But her second film, Don’t Worry Darling, starring Harry Styles and Florence Pugh, has become much more famous, due to the drama behind-the-scenes. 

Despite her professional achievements, Wilde’s personal life tends to dominate the headlines. From her high-profile breakup with long-time partner Jason Sudeikis, her new relationship with Styles, and the controversy surrounding her new movie, she’d become a somewhat divisive figure — much more so than when she admitted to being drunk on set.