Jennifer Lawrence takes method acting to a new level as scientist Kate Dibiasky by getting high during Don't Look Up. Here's where it happened.
Jennifer Lawrence took method acting to a new level as a stoner scientist in Don't Look Up, including actually getting high for one particular scene. Adam McKay's latest satire came to Netflix on Christmas Eve, following a limited December 10th theatrical release. Lawrence features as the Ph.D. candidate Kate Dibiasky, working alongside Michigan State astronomy professor Dr. Randall Mindy (DiCaprio). Throughout Don't Look Up, Kate doesn't try to hide her affinity for marijuana and is shown using it several times, along with a Xanax or two. Reportedly, the actress decided to get into character by smoking weed on set before a particular scene with superstar Meryl Streep.
Don't Look Up has an A-List ensemble cast with the likes of Jonah Hill, Ron Pearlman, Cate Blanchett, and Timothée Chalamet. After her reprisal role as Mystique in X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Lawrence signed on to McKay's project to play a dual-protagonist with Leonardo DiCaprio. During a routine study of star deaths, Kate finds a massive comet that's headed straight for Earth. Armed with the news of humanity's impending extinction, she and Dr. Mindy travel to the White House to meet President Orlean (Meryl Streep) to discuss strategy. Their findings are brushed off until the two go on a press tour and shake up the general population. At first, Orlean puts a plan in place to destroy the comet. However, it all comes crashing down when tech-guru (and campaign donor) Peter Isherwell (Mark Rylance) convinces her that the comet is filled with trillions of dollars worth of minerals that he can harvest for his cellphone company.
The Don't Look Up scene that features a less-than-sober Jennifer Lawrence is her first introduction to President Orlean. After the revelation of the upcoming apocalypse, Kate declares "I gotta go get high." She's shown smoking on the plane to D.C., and later in her hotel room. However, the scene where Lawrence is high in real life comes when she and Dr. Mindy are finally able to speak with President Orlean about the comet they found. The actress asked director McKay's permission before performing the scene, and he gave it to her because she didn't have any major lines of dialogue. According to an interview the performer provided with Yahoo! Entertainment, Jennifer Lawrence decided to go full method for the scene was, "Because my character was getting high in the movie."
Despite Don't Look Up's reviews being so mixed, Jennifer Lawrence has a riveting performance, even while intoxicated. It's hard to imagine how the actress was able to hold it together in a room with Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jonah Hill while being high. Apparently, her fellow cast members decided to poke fun at the actress during the scene. According to Lawrence, “I was a real target. Everyone was f***ing with me. … I guess because I was high. Easy to f*** with.” Adam McKay graciously attempted to spare the actress, unlike her castmates. He says, "I kept turning to my script supervisor, Cate Hardman, and was like, ‘I just want to say, Hey, Jen. I think I have a monologue idea for you.’ And I would look at Jen and was like, ‘I can’t do it. It would be too mean.’ So I left you alone."
While Don't Look Up is Adam McKay and Jennifer Lawrence's first collaboration, the two are set to begin filming Bad Blood, a biographical drama about former businesswoman and fraud Elizabeth Holmes. McKay seems to have gotten more serious about his satirical works since his Anchorman days, with movies like Vice and now Don't Look Up. Even with all of the seriousness, Jennifer Lawrence was still able to indulge in a little marijuana; and surely all for authenticity's sake.
