Dakota Johnson was at the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend promoting her directorial debut, a short film called Loser Baby. The making of Loser Baby will always hold a memorable place in Dakota’s heart, not only because it was her first time helming a production, but also because it was where she learned that just because a drink boasts it has vitamins, that doesn’t mean it’s caffeine free. You see, Dakota started drinking Celsius energy drinks on the first day of filming without realizing they were… energy drinks. She read “B12 and vitamin A” on the label and thought it was a “natural drink.” After riding a euphoric high of productivity (and no sleep), the film’s costume designer finally pointed out to Dakota that she was imbibing about the equivalent of four Red Bulls with her daily two cans of Celsius, somewhere around 400 milligrams of caffeine. Whereas the average amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee is 95 milligrams. Yikes!
Dakota Johnson knows all about Celsius thanks to her new short film!
The Madame Web star, 34, shared in an interview with Variety on Saturday, Sept. 7, that she recently figured out Celsius is an energy drink after consuming plenty of it on the set, as director, of her short film Loser Baby.
“I discovered Celsius on [the first day] of filming the short and I didn’t know that it was Red Bull,” Johnson admitted to the outlet.
The director explained she “thought it was just vitamins” and considered it a “natural drink” because the drink noted it had “B12 and vitamin A.”
“I was like, ‘I’m so inspired. I’m awake all night long… I’m not sleeping because I’m just thinking about’ — and it was because I was having like two Celsius a day,” she said.
“I didn’t realize that I was basically overdosing on caffeine,” she added.
Most Celsius flavors contain 200 milligrams of caffeine per can, while other variations contain up to 270 milligrams of caffeine per can.
She said the costume designer on set eventually was the one who alerted her about the drinks, telling her, “You’re basically having four Red Bulls a day.”
When asked if it was “upsetting” when she found out, Johnson said with a laugh, “That was really upsetting. Yeah, it was. But now I know that in dire straits, there’s Celsius. And I’m looking for an endorsement, [because] I’m your girl. Night shoots, they work really well.”
Energy drinks aren’t the only thing the actress doesn’t consume too much of. She previously shared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon that she really doesn’t love limes, despite the fruit having been in her kitchen during an Architectural Digest video showing off her home.
“I’m mildly allergic to limes and honeydew melon,” she told Jimmy Fallon, noting that limes make her “tongue itch.”
When Dakota says she wasn’t sleeping, was that literal, or did she mean she wasn’t getting her preferred 10-14 hours? I guess my body is looking out for me because when I start having too much caffeine, instead of becoming more productive I just become completely distracted by the feeling of my heart racing. To be somewhat fair to Dakota, though, most of the Celsius drinks do not have the word “caffeine” anywhere on the front of the cans, you have to go around to the tiny printed nutritional info on the back. And it says “essential energy” instead of “This Is An Energy Drink!” But still, this anecdote coupled with the infamous kitchen limes story, does sort of give the impression that Dakota isn’t always paying attention, no? I mean, Architectural Digest has yet to book me for a video tour of my abode, but you can be certain that I would know every inch of a room before being filmed on camera talking about it! Or at the very least I’d expect an assistant on Dakota’s staff to let the food stylist know (Dakota said that’s how the limes got in her kitchen) that she’s allergic to them. Or in this case, that someone closer to her would have warned her about what she was drinking, and sooner. Anyway, moral of the story, kids: read the nutritional label top to bottom! Your heart will thank you.
Photos credit: BauerGriffin/INSTARimages, AGO/Carlos Tischler/ Eyepix Group / Avalon, Getty
This beautiful woman is not the brightest bulb bin the chandelier.
As someone who lives on Celsius, this is hilarious to me!
I’d watch that if I were you. Sucralose destroys your gut microbiome as a harmful chemical sweetener. It’s better than aspartame but not by much. Heavy caffeine over time wears out your adrenal glands. Many of these “energy” drinks are so harmful to health.
what I love about Dakota as a celebrity is that she will say absolutely anything to anyone — this is not a woman who is worrying about what people think about her or if she’s going to sound like an idiot. Is it because she’s actually a little dumb or because she’s just supremely confident in herself or both? I don’t know and I don’t care
Same. I love her.
Like the Panera lemonade debacle, I think it can be hard to understand what the relative amount of caffeine in these juice/fruity-based drinks, especially if you are getting them off a table and not picking them out and buying them yourself. It’s not being dumb, just picking it up not thinking you need to read every word on the label.
That Panera thing was different. There was no signage by the actual product, which was marketed as lemonade and looked like plain lemonade in the store. I know because my 8 year old filled up her cup with it once and I dumped it out, and everyone else in our party (adult included) was convinced it was just plain lemonade. But how do you not know an energy drink has stuff in it to give you…. Energy? Like it has caffeine in it? And she knew it had B12 in it.
If she has allergies to limes (which are in some drinks) you would think she would be reading labels.
As someone who needs to constantly check labels (be aware that ingredients can be changed without notice and you may pay the consequences!), I totally agree with you, Equality.
I disagree. I have friend with a citrus allergy. It’s not going to progress the same way other food allergies can. It’s just mildly irritating that she gets a slightly itchy mouth and swollen lips.
Doesn’t mean that is how it affects Dakota and some people would find their lips swelling and itching more than mildly irritating.
Moral of the story is: this was her ad placement and I hope she got paid for it.
Why on earth is there so much caffeine in these things?
Also, what in the 90’s/00’s revival hell is that dress?
B12 and a ton of other ingredients in those drinks will also keep you awake. Good lord. How did she fail to associate an energy drink with sleeplessness?
I did the opposite. I assumed all the Liquid Death flavors contained microdoses of caffeine. Dear reader, they do not.
FFS…I can’t even…
Same here with Liquid Death, thought it was a Monster-like drink, but delighted I was wrong
Red Bull is still my energy of choice, despite the fact that the 8.4 oz can has probably the least amount of caffeine out of all the popular energy brands. IDK it’s the proprietary blend or maybe a placebo effect but I feel so much better after drinking a Red Bull if I’m feeling sluggish