Gerard Depardieu Says He Drinks 12 To 14 Bottles Of Wine A Day

Wine Glass and Bottle

French actor Gerard Depardieu claims he drinks 12 to 14 bottles of wine a day:

GERARD Depardieu is tired of only getting plaudits for his acting — he wants them for his drinking too.

The French movie star, 65, claims he starts tipping drinks back at 10am and downs “12, 13, 14” bottles of wine a day in an interview with UK film magazine So Film.

“When I’m bored, I drink. Apart from compulsory moments of abstinence. After bypass surgery, and also because of cholesterol and stuff, I have to be careful,” the actor said.

“Anyway, I’m not going to die. Not now. I still have energy.”

Depardieu, who is adamant he “can’t drink like a normal person,” went on to describe his daily drinking in detail.

“It starts at home with Champagne or red wine, before 10am. Then again Champagne. Then pastis, maybe half a bottle. Then food, accompanied by two bottles of wine. In the afternoon, Champagne, beer, and more pastis at around 5pm, to finish off the bottle. Later on vodka and/or whisky.”

But the actor, who stars in the upcoming film about Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Welcome to New York, said he’s always able to hold it together, no matter how much alcohol he’s consumed.

“But I’m never totally drunk, just a little pissed. All you need is a 10-minute nap and voilá, a slurp of rosé wine and I feel as fresh as a daisy.”

Given some of Depardieu’s more infamous antics, I would tend to disagree with the idea that his alcohol consumption hasn’t caused problems for him. At the same time, though, Assuming we’re talking about regular sized wine bottles here, 12 to 14 bottles would mean that he’s consuming between nearly 12 and 14 liters of alcohol a day. Every day. If that’s true, I’d hate to see the condition of his liver.

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Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. grumpy realist says:

    If such is true, his liver must have turned into something normally found with an event horizon.

    Also if such is true, he’s an absolute idiot. Dying due to cirrhosis of the liver is an extremely unpleasant way to go.

  2. PJ says:

    Well, he did move to Russia, didn’t he? I guess being constantly drunk is the way that most Russians deals with living in Russia, he seems to adjust rather well.

  3. Tillman says:

    I bet this is fake.

    How often does he pee?

  4. President Camacho says:

    Plenty of meetings for him when he’s ready. He’ll be dead soon otherwise.

  5. Mr. Prosser says:

    My suspicion is he puts down a bottle or two, passes out and his staff sells some jugs from the cellar on the cheap. When he comes to they say, “Mon Dieu, Monsieur, look how much you drank!”

  6. Nikki says:

    So Gerard Depardieu is an alcoholic which everyone already knew.

  7. Liberal Capitalist says:

    The term is: “Functional Alcoholic”

    “Functional” only apples as that he is an actor that has already made a reputation and has some bankrolled cash.

    It’s a term used (but not publicly) to address those not of the Hoi Palloi.

    If he was poor, he would be called a “stinking drunk”.

  8. Pinky says:

    I just read the Telegraph article at the link. Sounds like the kind of person who thinks he doesn’t have a drinking problem. If you frequently have to explain to people that you don’t have a drinking problem…

  9. DrDaveT says:

    Assuming we’re talking about regular sized wine bottles here, 12 to 14 bottles would mean that he’s consuming between nearly 12 and 14 liters of alcohol a day.

    A normal wine bottle is 3/4 liter. 12 bottles of wine is 9 liters. Call it 9-10 liters of wine per day.

    Depending on the type of wine, the alcohol content varies from about 8% by volume to more than15% by volume. French red wine of the type a wealthy actor would drink tends to be between 13% and 14%. Champagne is lower, around 12% typically.

    Pastis is a liqueur, 80+ proof (40% to 45% by volume).

    If we say 4 bottles of champagne, 7 bottles of red wine, and a bottle of pastis per day, we get something like 1.4 liters of pure ethanol consumed per day. That would certainly kill most ordinary people immediately, from alcohol poisoning.

  10. de stijl says:

    @DrDaveT:

    To follow on your point:

    A standard drink is determined to be 0.6 ounces of pure alcohol.

    That means one 12 oz. beer, one 5 oz. glass of wine, or one 1.5 oz. serving of 80 proof spirits.

    There are 5 standard drinks per 750 ml bottle of wine.

    Mr. Depardieu claims to drink 60 – 70 standard drinks per day.

    If, in fact, he actually drinks as much as he claims (standard 60 – 70 per day), then he cannot stand or speak for much of the time he is awake, he will have pissed himself or his bed almost daily, and he will be dead in weeks. He is without a doubt overstating how much alcohol he consumes on a daily basis.

    Given his appearance and behavior, he is a massive consumer of alcohol, but 12 – 14 750 ml bottles of wine a day is just flat-out unsustainable.

  11. Franklin says:

    I guess I’m a little late to the party to call BS.