Actor Joe Alwyn Recalls Pretending to Be a Sausage in Drama School

NEW YORK, N.Y. — Actor Joe Alwyn shared a bizarre acting exercise from his drama school days during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show on Friday, January 19, 2025. The 33-year-old actor revealed he once pretended to be a sausage during a group workshop, prompting host Drew Barrymore to join in by lying on the floor and mimicking a sausage in a pan.

Alwyn, known for his roles in films like The Brutalist, opened up about his unconventional training at drama school, where he and his classmates studied animals at the London Zoo. “I spent an abnormal portion of my life pretending to be an animal,” Alwyn said. “People would be walking around, like, real members of the public, watching these crazy 21-year-olds rolling around on the floor roaring or grunting.”

However, the strangest exercise involved pretending to be a sausage. “We were walking around the room and pretending to be a color or something strange like that, and then they said, ‘And now you’re a sausage,’” Alwyn recalled. “You kind of think, ‘Alright.’ You go with it, you’re not quite sure what that means. And then you’re a sausage in a pan and everyone sort of starts wiggling and vibrating.”

Barrymore, amused by the story, immediately acted out the scenario. “Yeah, I’m definitely picturing — I’m like, if I was a sausage I guess I would be like this,” she said, lying on the floor. She then added, “And then in the pan it’s, ‘Ow, ow!’” as she writhed her body.

Alwyn joked that it was the “role of a lifetime,” while Barrymore playfully responded, “I’ve always wanted to play a sausage.”

In addition to his quirky acting exercises, Alwyn also shared a childhood prank that went awry. At age 8, he and his older brother wrote threatening letters dipped in fake blood and delivered them to neighbors’ mailboxes. The prank led to a police investigation, with Scotland Yard officers visiting their home. “About three policemen came into the house, we had to confess to our crime,” Alwyn said. “I don’t remember what the policeman yelled at me, but they yelled.”

Alwyn, who is currently promoting his new film The Brutalist, has largely kept his private life out of the spotlight. Following his split from singer Taylor Swift in 2023, a source told PEOPLE he has been splitting his time between London and New York City. When asked about dealing with fame, Alwyn told Variety he tries to “keep things private.”

The Drew Barrymore Show airs weekdays on CBS. The Brutalist is now in theaters.