World War II film, “Darkest Hour”, featuring Gary Oldman as the legendary Winston Churchill is set for release. Of course, no depiction of the iconic Prime Minister would be complete without the trademark Homburg Hat, neat bow tie and smouldering stogie that he was rarely seen without.
While alternatives are often in place for actors not keen on smoking, Oldman is notorious for his method acting approaches. As such, he attempted to keep up with Churchill’s cigar smoking habits while depicting the wartime leader. Trying to mirror the renowned cigar smokers habits didn’t work out quite as planned, however, as, by the end of filming, Oldman had ended up with nicotine poisoning!
Recreating Churchill’s smoking habits certainly upped the film’s budget too, with around £30,000 spent on the cigars smoked by Oldman throughout shooting. This amounts to more than some of the actors involved in the film were paid for featuring! How many cigars does £30,000 of Churchill’s favourites, the beloved Romeo y Julieta cigars, get you, you may ask? According to Oldman, around twelve cigars a day for about three months. While we all enjoy a cigar here, even we think this may be a bit excessive!
The reason for this number of cigars used was in part down to the way that films are shot. Of course, a lit cigar will go down, so over the course of multiple takes, the cigar will have to be replenished, to keep the scene consistent.
Despite the price and the fact that Oldman got ill from the number of stogies smoked, the film’s director, Joe Wright, claims that it was all worth it as: “It’s Winston Churchill. You can’t have Winston Churchill without a cigar.”
Despite the fact that the film has yet to be released, historians and biographers have already critiqued the film for its warnings, after the statement that “the depictions of tobacco smoking contained in the film are based solely on artistic consideration and are not intended to promote tobacco consumption” was released. Hugo Vickers, the royal biographer, proposed that a further line should be added by the film-makers, which stated: “Sir Winston Churchill lived to be 90”!
What do you think about having to smoke that many cigars? Let us know via our social media! A fan of Churchill? You might be interested in our article on How to Live Like Winston Churchill!
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