Steven Spielberg: 'I never had a cup of coffee in my life'

The November issue of Empire magazine has a treat for film buffs: a wide-ranging survey of Hollywood's hottest directors, conducted by Spectre's Sam Mendes. The survey touches on craft, technology, and the atmosphere of the set, offering a unique glimpse into the working lives of directors like Steven Spielberg, Joss Whedon, and David Fincher.

But Mendes also found time for a simpler question: How much coffee do you drink on an average day?

David Fincher (Gone Girl, The Social Network): "Three tops, or I become too caustic/vengeful."
Joss Whedon (Avengers: Age of Ultron, TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer): "Only tea, 'til Age Of Ultron, where I got hooked. Even then, one or two. With tea in between. Tea I can swill all day."
Edgar Wright (The World's End, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World): "Way too many. Once I had a potentially heart attack-inducing eight double espressos in one day. I think my assistant secretly swaps my coffees for decaf as she doesn’t want me to die of caffeine overdose."
Christopher Nolan (Interstellar, the Dark Knight trilogy): "So many that I was forced to give it up and take up tea after Insomnia."
Steven Spielberg (Lincoln, Saving Private Ryan): "I never had a cup of coffee in my life, but I have at least a dozen cups of mint tea a day."

Really, Spielberg? Never? Suddenly the life of an A-list Hollywood director isn't sounding so great.

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Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.