--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The best research for playing a drunk is…" description: "\"The best research for playing a drunk is being a British actor for 20 years.\" — Michael Caine" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/michael-caine-1152_actor_the-best-research-for-playing-a-drunk-is_2455064.jpg" --- # The best research for playing a drunk is being a British… ![“The best research for playing a drunk is being a British actor for 20 years.” quote by Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/michael-caine-1152_actor_the-best-research-for-playing-a-drunk-is_2455064.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/michael-caine-1152_actor_the-best-research-for-playing-a-drunk-is_2455064.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/michael-caine-1152_actor_the-best-research-for-playing-a-drunk-is_2455064.jpg) > “The best research for playing a drunk is being a British actor for 20 years.” [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Playing a drunk convincingly requires long‑term experience and observation. **In simple terms:** Acting drunk needs experience. Key Takeaway Study real behavior to portray it. Themes acting craft observation Mood reflective practical Type advice professional When to use this quote - rehearsals - workshops - film sets Key Concepts method acting character study experience Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance realism and comedy? - What research helps? A Different Perspective Risk of caricature if not nuanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [20 Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/20-years-268352/) [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Actor 20](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor-20-603406/) [British](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british/) [British Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british-actor-603408/) [Drunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drunk/) [Drunk British](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drunk-british-603407/) [Playing Drunk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/playing-drunk-603409/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [The best research for playing a drunk is being a British Actor for twenty years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/the-best-research-for-playing-a-drunk-is-being-a-british-actor-for/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [I've been an actor for 20 years, and I think the first 14 years, it was all struggling. At first, it was all gangsters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pena/i-ve-been-an-actor-for-20-years-and-i-think-the-first-14-years-it-was/) [Michael Pena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pena/) > [Playing a drunk doesn't mean being a drunk, only bad actors try to be drunk. A real drunk tries to be sober, he wants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-landau/playing-a-drunk-doesn-t-mean-being-a-drunk-only-bad-actors-try-to-be/) [Martin Landau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-landau/) > [It's sort of cliche, but when you're playing drunk, your character is trying to appear sober.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-stoll/it-s-sort-of-cliche-but-when-you-re-playing-drunk-your-character-is/) [Corey Stoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-stoll/) > [There's this assumption that every British actor, they can ride horses. Definitely not!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-o-connor/there-s-this-assumption-that-every-british-actor-they-can-ride-horses/) [Josh O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-o-connor/) > [Funnily enough, I had a real giggle with Gary Oldman when we were doing an interview together for 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.' Because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strong/funnily-enough-i-had-a-real-giggle-with-gary-oldman-when-we-were/) [Mark Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strong/) > [On one level, I would prefer never to hear the words 'James Bond' again, but on another level, it is part of my blood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-dalton/on-one-level-i-would-prefer-never-to-hear-the-words-james-bond-again/) [Timothy Dalton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-dalton/) > [One of the hallmarks that a British actor brings to his public persona is an adept sense of self-deprecation - see Daniel Craig and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-rodrick/one-of-the-hallmarks-that-a-british-actor-brings-to-his-public/) [Stephen Rodrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-rodrick/) > [I think the first British actor who really worked well in cinema was Albert Finney. He was a back-street Marlon Brando. He brought a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hopkins/i-think-the-first-british-actor-who-really-worked-well-in-cinema-was/) [Anthony Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hopkins/) > [Anyone that knows me knows what I'm about, and I'm very much a British actor, a European actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-carlyle/anyone-that-knows-me-knows-what-i-m-about-and-i-m-very-much-a-british/) [Robert Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-carlyle/) > [I defy any British actor to deny they've not stood in front of the mirror and said: 'Bond, James Bond.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ioan-gruffudd/i-defy-any-british-actor-to-deny-they-ve-not-stood-in-front-of-the/) [Ioan Gruffudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ioan-gruffudd/) > [I think it's sort of a rite of passage for a British actor to try and get the American accent and have a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-bloom/i-think-it-s-sort-of-a-rite-of-passage-for-a-british-actor-to-try-and/) [Orlando Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-bloom/) > [“but 20 years from now it will be bizarre if you walk into a store and the store doesn’t know who you are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-scoble/but-20-years-from-now-it-will-be-bizarre-if-you-walk-into-a-store-and/) [Robert Scoble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-scoble/) > [I have so many people come up to me, 20-some years later, and saying, "I loved you in Jawbreaker!".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-benz/i-have-so-many-people-come-up-to-me-20-some-years-later-and-saying-i/) [Julie Benz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-benz/) > [If my wisdom could get support from officials, I think society would move forward 20 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chen-guangbiao/if-my-wisdom-could-get-support-from-officials-i-think-society-would/) [Chen Guangbiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chen-guangbiao/) ## More by Michael Caine > [That to me is what my idea of film acting should be. There shouldn't be any acting. You should just be watching a real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/that-to-me-is-what-my-idea-of-film-acting-should-be-there-shouldn-t/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [Theater acting is an operation with a scalpel, movie acting is an operation with a laser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/theater-acting-is-an-operation-with-a-scalpel-movie-acting-is-an/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [If you're a leading actor you don't work with another actor. You work with a lady.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/if-you-re-a-leading-actor-you-don-t-work-with-another-actor-you-work/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [“Be a duck, remain calm on the surface and paddle like hell underneath.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/be-a-duck-remain-calm-on-the-surface-and-paddle-like-hell-underneath/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [I try to make everyone around me feel comfortable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/i-try-to-make-everyone-around-me-feel-comfortable/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [You can see all sorts of things in film acting if you know where to look and what to look for. One thing I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/you-can-see-all-sorts-of-things-in-film-acting-if-you-know-where-to/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [I was a repertory actor, which meant that I did a play every week. I was a different character every week; for a year,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/i-was-a-repertory-actor-which-meant-that-i-did-a-play-every-week-i/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [You start pretending to have fun, you might have a little by accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/you-start-pretending-to-have-fun-you-might-have-a-little-by-accident/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [If you held a pistol at my head, I couldn't tell you who they're going to vote for Best Actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/if-you-held-a-pistol-at-my-head-i-couldn-t-tell-you-who-they-re-going/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [I wear a baseball cap all the time, which I would never normally wear, and I walk very fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/i-wear-a-baseball-cap-all-the-time-which-i-would-never-normally-wear/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [I've always loved reprehensible people because they're so much more interesting to play on screen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/i-ve-always-loved-reprehensible-people-because-they-re-so-much-more/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [I want to stick around with the big boys. I don't want to be in the old folks home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/i-want-to-stick-around-with-the-big-boys-i-don-t-want-to-be-in-the/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [I've been on movies where I literally couldn't hear what the other actor was saying. It's very awkward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/i-ve-been-on-movies-where-i-literally-couldn-t-hear-what-the-other/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [My father was a fish market porter. So I grew up on fish, because he used to steal one a day, I grew up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/my-father-was-a-fish-market-porter-so-i-grew-up-on-fish-because-he/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) > [The trouble with women? Elbows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/the-trouble-with-women-elbows/) [Michael Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) [Explore all 282 Michael Caine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/) ## More Actor quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [I once told someone I could act. They totally bought it. I've been getting away with it ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-kumar/i-once-told-someone-i-could-act-they-totally-bought-it-i-ve-been/) [Akshay Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-kumar/) > [There has got to be a way for me to have a role on TV or in film that is just as normal as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adeel-akhtar/there-has-got-to-be-a-way-for-me-to-have-a-role-on-tv-or-in-film-that/) [Adeel Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adeel-akhtar/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/) [David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) > [I'm an actor, so I'm never going to feel like I've done enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italia-ricci/i-m-an-actor-so-i-m-never-going-to-feel-like-i-ve-done-enough/) [Italia Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italia-ricci/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [When I was 13, I auditioned for the theater school, and I was there for four years. In the meantime, I did my first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-de-armas/when-i-was-13-i-auditioned-for-the-theater-school-and-i-was-there-for/) [Ana de Armas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-de-armas/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) > [Actors don't hate acting. Most people don't hate acting! 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I was typecast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divine/i-never-planned-to-do-female-roles-it-just-happened-i-was-typecast/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divine/) > [Once I committed to acting, this has been it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-hudson/once-i-committed-to-acting-this-has-been-it/) [Ernie Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-hudson/) [Browse all 21,590 Actor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The best research for playing a drunk is being a British actor for 20 years.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Caine" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/the-best-research-for-playing-a-drunk-is-being-a-british-actor-for-20/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Actor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/the-best-research-for-playing-a-drunk-is-being-a-british-actor-for-20/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/michael-caine-1152_actor_the-best-research-for-playing-a-drunk-is_2455064.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/michael-caine-1152_actor_the-best-research-for-playing-a-drunk-is_2455064.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/968/michael-caine-1152_actor_the-best-research-for-playing-a-drunk-is_2455064.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The best research for playing a drunk is being a British actor for 20 years.” — Michael Caine", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Michael Caine", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-caine/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The best research for playing a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/the-best-research-for-playing-a-drunk-is-being-a-british-actor-for-20/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-caine/the-best-research-for-playing-a-drunk-is-being-a-british-actor-for-20/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```