Jack Lemmon was a laudable actor who brought out every dark side of Joe Clay. It was great acting that made the 1962 film famous. In the film, Days of Wine and Roses, Joe and wife (Lee Remick) see their lives fall apart because of alcohol. There is a scene where a drunk Joe tries in vain to find a bottle of booze hidden in his father-in-law’s greenhouse. It is shattering proof of just how far the once-talented PR man has fallen. Here Lemmon was in his prime, but he still didn't win the Best Actor Oscar.

With Lionel Barrymore, he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in A Free Soul (1931). He was Stephen Ashe, an alcoholic lawyer who successfully defended a notorious gambler on a murder charge. Next, Ray Milland in Lost Weekend (1945) won the Oscar for Best Actor. He was a tormented writer unable to escape the bottle. He was a man who starts out hiding booze bottles in ceiling lights and ends up in a straight jacket in the Bellevue drunk tank with the DTs, shrieking in mad terror.

Nicolas Cage got a Best Actor Oscar for Leaving Las Vegas (1995). Cage (Ben Sanderson) went on the suicidal bender to end all suicidal benders. Ben was a stiff guy who used whiskey to show he was a minor drunken buffoon. Cage applied humor as Ben with horror and irony to give a painful and honest portrayal of someone drowning in grief … and gin.

Films and Oscars may not favor addicts, at least not directly. But, addiction and addicts will still spark fires in making top films.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org