Sanaa Lathan Talks Playing An Alcoholic After Giving Up Drinking

She has been a staple in Black Hollywood since the ’90s and isn’t letting up yet! Sanaa Lathan‘s new movie, The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat, is now available, and she recently admitted that life often imitates art.

Amidst the release of her new movie, Lathan is opening up about the character in ways some fans may not have expected. In an interview with People, Lathan reveals that she can relate to every character she has played in some form or fashion.

“Each character leaves me with something,” she stated. “There’s a synergy there.”

The 52-year-old’s new film is no different. The movie, also starring Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Uzo Aduba, follows a group of friends as they hash out life’s issues at a local diner they frequent. Lathan says that her character, Barbara Jean, is battling alcoholism, something she is familiar with.

In 2021, People reported that the actress gave up alcohol three years prior, in 2018. Though she admits that she was not a daily drinker before quitting, alcohol had a significant role in her life. Lathan says having the opportunity to play Barbara Jean has helped her, as she is “a woman in pain that’s self-medicating.”

“There was a period in my life where I was using alcohol as a self-medication,” the actress admitted.

The Tina Mabry-directed film is set in the 1960s, a trying time for Black people in America. Although Barbara Jean is a few generations ahead of Lathan, she can still relate to her struggles. She says being a Black woman in Hollywood resulted in her alcohol abuse.

“Navigating life as a woman, as a Black woman in Hollywood, is not for the faint of heart,” she stated. “And people cope in different ways.”

Sanaa Lathan’s New Movie Is A Result Of Her Decision To Quit Drinking

Since deciding to give up alcohol, Lathan has seen her career soar. She credits her success to her decision. You may recall that the actress starred in Netflix’s Nappily Ever After in 2018. She also received her first Emmy nomination for her role in Succession. Additionally, she starred in and directed the hit movie On the Come Up. Lathan believes that none of this would’ve happened if alcohol was still a coping mechanism.

“I do believe that I would never have been able to direct a major studio movie if I hadn’t stopped. There are things that I’m doing in my life now that I don’t think that I would’ve been able to sustain,” she revealed.

Lathan also told People that after doing a “Find Your Roots” episode, she discovered that alcoholism ran in her family.

“I did Finding Your Roots,” she stated. “And I didn’t know this, but I found out that there are a couple of generations of people who had died from alcoholism in my lineage. And my father broke the cycle for himself, and what a blessing for me to be able to see that. So when it was time, I was like, ‘Yeah, this is possible,’ and I stopped [drinking].”

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