ollywood actor Nicolas Cage hired a "drinking coach" to observe for his role as an alcoholic writer in "Leaving Las Vegas". Cage told GQ magazine: "My cousin, Roman Coppola, said, 'You should go, hire Tony Dingman' - who was at that time, very drunk and also a poet - 'Hire him to be your drinking coach.'

"So I had him on the set with me all the time, the poor guy, curled up in a foetal position in my trailer while I played bongos, I was trying to get some rhythm for the character.