Dakota Johnson Opens Up About Her Caffeine Intake While Filming Her First Movie

Dakota Johnson was feeling a little nervous while filming “Loser Baby,” a short film that marks her directorial debut and will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. But it wasn’t nerves that got her on edge.

“I discovered Celsius on the first day of shooting,” she told Varieties Toronto Film Festival Studio, sponsored by J. Crew and SharkNinja. “I didn’t know it was like Red Bull. I thought it was a natural drink.”

At first, she attributed the energy boost to being in the zone. “I was like, ‘I’m so creative. I’m so inspired. I’m up all night. I’m not sleeping, because I’m just thinking…’” Johnson recalls. “And it’s because I was having about 2 degrees Celsius a day. I thought it was vitamins. I didn’t realize I was overdosing on caffeine.”

Talia Bernstein, who wrote and stars in Loser Baby, had a similar epiphany. “We were like, ‘We’re not sleeping because of adrenaline,’” she said. “And it was like thousands of milligrams of caffeine were coursing through our bodies.”

It was the film’s costume designer who finally put her finger on the film’s extreme caffeine content. “She said, ‘You’re not well. You’re drinking, like, four Red Bulls a day,'” Johnson said. “It was really upsetting. But now I know that in tough situations… there’s Celsius.”

At 23 minutes, “Loser Baby” follows the story of a gay woman whose circle of friends leads her to question the state of her own relationship. Since her role in “Fifty Shades of Grey,” she has built up an eclectic resume with Luca Guadagnino’s supernatural horror remake “Suspiria,” the feel-good film “Peanut Butter Falcon,” director Maggie Gyllenhaal’s psychological drama “The Lost Daughter” and, most recently, Sony’s comic book adaptation “Madame Web.” She didn’t necessarily feel called to step behind the camera.

“I didn’t immediately think I was going to achieve it. But then I started to get quite jealous of someone other “I did it because all my friends were going to be in it,” Johnson said. “So I felt left out and possessive. That’s what made me decide to do it.”

Bernstein, who met Johnson through mutual friends, wrote the script to “give an honest portrayal of gay and queer relationships and what they can look like.” Johnson added, “It’s important to see different types of relationship dynamics and sexualities and know that it’s okay. At any point in someone’s life, every person is still trying to figure it out.”

As for the film’s title, “Loser Baby” was born from an inside joke.

“It happened because Blake (Lee, who appears in the film) once called Talia, in a group message, a loser baby because she was acting like a loser baby,” Johnson said.

Bernstein acknowledged the behavior that inspired the nickname, but focused more on its creative potential. “I was a bit of a loser, but we said, ‘Don’t criticize me. I think it’s a great title.'”

Throughout her career, Johnson has become the epitome of how to navigate fraught press tours with a certain deadpan grace. Yet she says she has no method for tackling the interviews and talk-show appearances that are part and parcel of promoting a film.

“I don’t have an answer. I find myself in situations that happen to me. I’m the victim,” she joked. “No, I don’t know. I feel so lucky to be able to do press tours, to travel, to go to all these incredible places and meet incredible people. I’m just having a good time.”