‘I used to sweat vodka and my tongue would be black’: Gary Oldman recalls the ‘hell’ of his fight against alcoholism while celebrating 24 years of sobriety.
Gary Oldman remembered how he would sweat ‘vodka’ before he became sober 24 years ago.
The Oscar-winning actor, 62, openly opened up about the side effects of the ‘hell’ of addiction and admitted he would not want it [his] greatest enemy ‘.
In the Los Angeles Times, he said: ‘I used to sweat vodka. It becomes such a part of you. My tongue would be black in the morning. I blame it for the shampoo.
Sober: Gary Oldman remembers sweating ‘vodka’ before being sober 24 years ago
“I do not wish for my greatest enemy to get hold of it. This is hell. And that self-exhausting humor? It is only there to disguise the inadequacy. ‘
Gary revealed how he used his own experience as a strong alcoholic for his role as screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz in the new Netflix movie Mank.
He added: ‘Herman, with the self-exhausting humor, he was having lunch with a friend, who said:’ Why do not you go home sober for a while? ‘
And he answered, ‘What? And it [his wife] Sara throws me out as a cheater? “I did the same.
![Battle: The 62-year-old actor openly opened up about the side effects of addiction and admitted he would not want it [his] biggest enemy ' [pictured in 1992]](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/03/03/10/39988324-9320411-The_62_year_old_actor_has_candidly_opened_up_on_the_side_effects-m-79_1614768337732.jpg?resize=560%2C856&ssl=1)
Battle: The 62-year-old actor openly opened up about the side effects of addiction and admitted he would not want it [his] biggest enemy ‘ [pictured in 1992]
Healthy: Gary has been sober for over two decades
‘I’ll sit down and say to the waiter,’ I’ll have a big vodka tonic. And can you bring it now, because I’m an alcoholic. I need it faster. ”
And Gary noted that he initially struggled to quit drinking because he ‘romanticized’ his addiction and associated it with inspiring artists like Ernest Hemingway.
He explained: ‘People romanticize it, and even I romanticized it.
“All my heroes were drinkers or addicts of opium, and you see all the fuss about these poets and playwrights and actors who were great drinkers.”
Meanwhile, Gary usually feels that he can ‘hide’ his insecurity with make-up and prosthetics, and he feels much more ‘comfortable’ that way, so he plays screenwriter Mankiewicz without any transformation, he initially feels defenseless before finally ‘liberating’ the job ‘wind.
![In the Los Angeles Times, he said: 'I used to sweat vodka. It becomes such a part of you. My tongue would be black in the morning. I blame it for the shampoo ' [pictured in 1997]](https://i0.wp.com/i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/03/03/10/39988318-9320411-Speaking_to_the_Los_Angeles_Times_newspaper_he_said_I_used_to_sw-m-91_1614768474625.jpg?resize=560%2C887&ssl=1)
In the Los Angeles Times, he said: ‘I used to sweat vodka. It becomes such a part of you. My tongue would be black in the morning. I blamed it on the shampoo ‘ [pictured in 1997]
New role: Gary reveals how he restored his own experience as an alcoholic for his role as screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz in the new Netflix movie Mank
He said earlier: ‘I like a disguise because of my own insecurities. If I can hide, it makes me feel more comfortable. I do not know, maybe it comes back to not feeling worthy.
‘I’m coming to 24 years of sobriety in March, but I remember all the things that made me drink, you know?
‘Toe David [Finscher, director] said: ‘I want you as naked as you have ever been, I do not want a veil between you and the audience’, it played my insecurity. He said, ‘Trust me.’ So you go, ‘OK’. And really, that was the best call. Oddly enough, after a few days it was quite liberating. ‘