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Los Angeles - Denzel Washington never drinks while he's acting.
The 58-year-old actor plays a drunk, drug taking pilot in Flight but would never actually consume alcohol before filming any scenes in a movie after a bad experience when he was younger.
He said: "I did a movie in London in the 80s, For Queen and Country, and there was a scene where we had to drink, so me and this other young actor said: 'Man, let's really drink.'
"We had some scotch and thought we were playing it pretty cool. And the director said: 'What's wrong with you guys?'
"We thought we were wild but we were really just dull. The director was p***ed off and it taught me a lesson.
"That was the last time I ever drank while working, because it doesn't work.
"I've worked with actors who've crossed that line and it's just not worth it. You think you're giving 100%, but all the while your level is dropping."
'Acting was my calling'
The star has had a distinguished career, picking up two Oscars - Best Supporting Actor for Glory in 1989 and Best Actor for Training Day in 2001 - and says he was drawn to acting ever since he was a child.
He said: "Acting was my calling. The year I started acting there was a woman in my mother's beauty shop, a kind of seer if you like, who kept looking at me in the mirror.
"Finally she got a piece of paper and wrote 'prophecy' at the top.
"She said: 'You are going to travel the world and preach to millions of people.' Now, bear in mind that I'd just been kicked out of school.
"I said: 'You see anything there about me being let back into school?'
"That was March 1975 and September the same year I started acting. I still got that piece of paper too."
The 58-year-old actor plays a drunk, drug taking pilot in Flight but would never actually consume alcohol before filming any scenes in a movie after a bad experience when he was younger.
He said: "I did a movie in London in the 80s, For Queen and Country, and there was a scene where we had to drink, so me and this other young actor said: 'Man, let's really drink.'
"We had some scotch and thought we were playing it pretty cool. And the director said: 'What's wrong with you guys?'
"We thought we were wild but we were really just dull. The director was p***ed off and it taught me a lesson.
"That was the last time I ever drank while working, because it doesn't work.
"I've worked with actors who've crossed that line and it's just not worth it. You think you're giving 100%, but all the while your level is dropping."
'Acting was my calling'
The star has had a distinguished career, picking up two Oscars - Best Supporting Actor for Glory in 1989 and Best Actor for Training Day in 2001 - and says he was drawn to acting ever since he was a child.
He said: "Acting was my calling. The year I started acting there was a woman in my mother's beauty shop, a kind of seer if you like, who kept looking at me in the mirror.
"Finally she got a piece of paper and wrote 'prophecy' at the top.
"She said: 'You are going to travel the world and preach to millions of people.' Now, bear in mind that I'd just been kicked out of school.
"I said: 'You see anything there about me being let back into school?'
"That was March 1975 and September the same year I started acting. I still got that piece of paper too."
