Paul Giamatti Plays Honoré de Balzac, Hopped Up on 50 Coffees Per Day

It’s the stuff of leg­end. Hon­oré de Balzac cranked out 50+ nov­els in 20 years and died at 51. The cause? Too much work and caf­feine. How much cof­fee? Up to 50 cups per day, they say.

Whether true or not, it’s fun to imag­ine what that scene might have looked like. Enter Paul Gia­mat­ti, known for his roles in Side­ways, Amer­i­can Splen­dor and John Adams, who gives us his com­ic take. This new short film comes from The New York­er, which has just released the first sea­son of The New York­er Presents on Ama­zon.

For more on Balza­c’s cof­fee habit, see the first two items in the Relat­eds below.

Relat­ed Con­tent:

Hon­oré de Balzac Writes About “The Plea­sures and Pains of Cof­fee,” and His Epic Cof­fee Addic­tion

The Cof­fee Pot That Fueled Hon­oré de Balzac’s Cof­fee Addic­tion

Philoso­phers Drink­ing Cof­fee: The Exces­sive Habits of Kant, Voltaire & Kierkegaard

J.S. Bach’s Com­ic Opera, “The Cof­fee Can­ta­ta,” Sings the Prais­es of the Great Stim­u­lat­ing Drink (1735)