To get to the core of such a strung-out character, Cage would carry around a vile of sugar substitute that looked like cocaine. "I'd psych myself up by snorting [it] and trying to get into the headspace," he said. "Everyone was kind of getting a little flipped out about my psych-up process to get this scene because I'm going nuts and high on 'coke.' So [director Werner Herzog] was like, 'Nicolas, what is in that vile?!'"
Despite his antics, he said he was "completely dry" on the film, abstaining from drinking entirely.