Denzel Washington was given tips on how to act drunk by veteran thespian Sir Ian McKellen.

The Oscar winner is required to act inebriated in Broadway play A Raisin In The Sun, but he reveals director Kenny Leon gave him sparse instructions when it came making his intoxication seem genuine.

However, the actor was able to turn to MCKellen for advice and gratefully took the Brit's words of wisdom on board.

He tells Vulture, "There wasn't a whole lot of direction for that scene... I was asking him (MCKellen) about it, and he said, 'Well, I just curl up my feet, and I kind of roll back on my heels a little bit, and then you're always trying to get back on your toes.' You know?... Now, I don't do that the whole time I'm out there, but it's a starting place... Now people will be looking at my toes!"