Ron Howard has had a long and storied career in Hollywood. So it stands to reason that he probably has some pretty interesting tales from set. Take Apollo 13, for instance. The actor turned director accidentally got high while on Set.
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Speaking with Far Out Magazine, Howard reflected on filming in a zero-G plane to replicate the feeling of zero gravity. Howard said, "We would up using this zero-G aeroplane that does parabolas in order to recreate weightlessness and do scientific testing and training of astronauts."
As part of the shooting 13 days in the plane, Howard took something to help him with his stomach. He said, "We took a little cocktail called Scopedex, which is half scopolamine and half Dexedrine."
"Scopolamine evens out your stomach, but wants to put you to sleep, and the Dexedrine keeps you working," he added. "One time we were getting ready to go, and we took our Scopedex - or at least I did - we were all planned out, and then there was some engine failure, and we couldn't go."
But in non-zero-gravity environment apparently Scopodex can make you really high.
Ron Howard on Film
"Everybody was laughing their heads off at me, because I was on the stuff and when you're up there, with the adrenaline, you really don't feel anything, you don't feel any buzz, but apparently I was running around [hyperactively] saying 'okay, so we can't but you can bring a camera over here, we have the set, we'll use the mock up, it's okay, you can light it - Tom come on!'. They were all just looking like 'somebody just hit this guy with a hammer, please,'" Howard said.
Howard suffered for his art it appears. In addition to getting high, he also accidentally urinated himself during a physical for the film.
R"I'm in there getting my physical with Kevin Bacon. It's everything — it's the treadmill, urine, blood works, heart monitor the whole thing," recalled Howard. "I'm a little more prone to shock and I can get lightheaded. And at times, I can even faint."
"In this particular case, we're going along doing the physical and they're doing the blood test and I start to get woozy. In this case, the vasovagal syncope led to — I've never told this story by the way, for this reason," he also added. "It led to Ron blacks out and Ron makes wee wee because I hadn't done the urine test yet."
"I come to and I wake up and Kevin Bacon is looking at me. He's looking down, he's looking up. I'm one degree from Kevin Bacon and I just take a beat and I just go, 'Ten extra closeups in this movie, buddy, if you don't say a word.' He said, 'I'm with ya, boss,'" Howard concluded.
