Jennifer Hudson on new film role: ‘I’ve never been drunk or high in my life’

theGRIO REPORT - Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson talks about her new film 'Mister & Pete' and confesses that she has never been drunk or high in her life...

Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson is busier than ever, with three movies in theaters this season: Winnie Mandela, Black Nativity, and The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete, out this Friday.

In Mister & Pete Hudson plays a heroin-addict prostitute with a 13-year-old son who she abandons to fend for himself when she is taken to prison.

Hudson says taking on the role of Gloria in Mister & Pete was intimidating because she has never been high or drunk in real life.

“It was so intimidating, because I’ve never been un-sober in my life.” Hudson said in an interview with theGrio. “In preparing for the role that was a huge part of it… I got to go to a rehabilitation center and sit with different recovering addicts and they would all tell their stories, and their like, ‘you know what it’s like when your high or when your drunk?’ And I’m like ‘oh my god I don’t.’ I have no idea, so what am I gonna draw from to build my character?”

“I was fortunate to find this lady [recovering drug addict] by the name of Lisa, and she would come sit with me on set every day and walk me through it step by step. I thought those ladies were so brave to be able to sit and tell their stories.”

This is only the seventh film for Hudson, who became a household name after winning an Oscar award in 2006 for her big screen debut in Dreamgirls.

The 32-year-old mother admits that since winning an Academy Award she feels pressure to succeed as an actress, but considers every film a learning experience.

“I don’t know everything. I am here to learn, and that’s the reason I love it. I call it film school, because I’m learning. Because you win an Oscar on your first film, it’s a lot that comes with it and a lot of expectations.”

The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete hit theaters nationwide tomorrow.

Follow Chris Witherspoon on Twitter at @WitherspoonC 

Mentioned in this article:

More About: