Recently, Sanaa Lathan opened up about her new role and how her being sober for six years helped her play the part of an alcoholic.

Lathan said of The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat, “Each character leaves me with something.”

She continued, “There was a period in my life where I was using alcohol as a self-medication.”

She added, “You don’t realize how over time it gets your brain out of balance as well, and the more I educated myself on really what it does to you…I have a mother who has never drank, and she’s probably the funniest person, the happiest person, because there’s this whole belief that you can only have fun with alcohol.”

Lathan continued, “I do believe that I would never have been able to direct a major studio movie if I hadn’t stopped. There are things that I’m doing in my life now that I don’t think that I would’ve been able to sustain.”