English actor Gary Oldman, renowned for his portrayals of complex characters including Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour and Jackson Lamb in Slow Horses, has opened up about his past struggles with alcohol, revealing how it impacted his professionalism on the set of the 1995 film The Scarlet Letter, where he starred opposite Demi Moore.
The Oscar-winning actor, played Arthur Dimmesdale in the romantic drama, which featured Demi in the lead role. Reflecting on that period in an interview with Radio Times, Gary admitted he was battling intermittent bouts of drinking during the production.
“I think the worst thing you can do is inspire disappointment. I was in The Scarlet Letter with Demi Moore, and I had intermittent bouts of boozing during filming. It was towards the end of [my drinking] where I thought, ‘If I carry on like this…’” he said.
Describing one particular incident on set, the 67-year-old actor recalled, “I was in a very dark place. I drank too much in the lunch hour. It was such a destructive thing. I got back on the set to do quite a big scene and I got through it. You wouldn’t really know but I was quite tipsy. And the next day, I said to her, ‘I’m so sorry, you must hate me.’ I was mortified that I’d been so unprofessional. And she said to me, ‘I don’t hate you. It’s OK. I’m just disappointed’.”
{{/usCountry}}Describing one particular incident on set, the 67-year-old actor recalled, “I was in a very dark place. I drank too much in the lunch hour. It was such a destructive thing. I got back on the set to do quite a big scene and I got through it. You wouldn’t really know but I was quite tipsy. And the next day, I said to her, ‘I’m so sorry, you must hate me.’ I was mortified that I’d been so unprofessional. And she said to me, ‘I don’t hate you. It’s OK. I’m just disappointed’.”
{{/usCountry}}Gary’s battle with alcohol addiction was not new at the time. He had been arrested for drunk driving in 1991 and voluntarily entered rehab in 1994. Over the years, he has candidly discussed the extent of his addiction, once admitting to "sweating vodka" and drinking so heavily that his tongue turned black. He has now been sober for 27 years and has often credited Alcoholics Anonymous with helping him turn his life around.
Recently, Gary also shared warm words for his former co-star Demi Moore, who has made a major comeback with her performance in the critically acclaimed horror film The Substance. Speaking to The Post earlier this year, he said, “I’ve not really been in touch with her, but I just reconnected with her because I saw her recently. She is such a wonderful person, Demi. She really is very special. I couldn’t be happier for her in this moment with this film and this role. I think it’s such a wonderful thing. And she’s loving it and really riding the wave.”