Method Acting: At What Point Does It Become a Problem?

Method acting.

If you’re a movie buff, you’ve heard of this style of preparation that many actors and actresses turn to in order to get into character. It involves an all-in methodology. The actors become their character in a sense. It can be an extremely valuable tool to create a believable persona on screen, but…

How far is too far?

Today we’ll be talking about it.

We’ll talk about who did it well... and who might have taken it to a point that is a bit too extreme. 

So, let’s go for it. 

Pictured: Jared Leto as Joker (Suicide Squad 2016)

In my opinion, Jared Leto is one of our more controversial method actors on the list today. 

Don’t get me wrong, Leto is a brilliant actor and has brought to life some of the most incredible, impactful, movies that have come out of Hollywood, but reports from co-stars and Leto himself describe his methods as… sketchy. 

One of the more recent controversies is his behavior on the set for Suicide Squad (2016). Leto’s reported actions have ranged from sending strange, inappropriate gifts like anal beads or dead rats to his co-stars to dropping a dead pig on a table during a first introduction to the rest of the cast. He defends his actions by expressing that it’s just how he works. 

One of Leto’s more impactful movies, based on its subject matter, Requiem for a Dream (2000), saw Leto lose 28 lbs., living on the streets of New York and refraining from sex for the role. His goal was to express a true desperation in his character through the screen. 

Pictured: Shia LeBeouf as Boyd Swan (Fury 2014)

Shia LeBeouf is one of my favorite actors. He is a talented man and his passion for his work is admirable. He has a list of movies and projects under his belt that are both impressive and respectful.

That being said, he is known to be a rather eccentric individual. His behavior on set of different projects, as well as in public settings, leave many to question his mindset. I can’t lie and say I haven’t speculated about those private details myself, but in the end we can only judge what we see and what we see doesn’t always explain what is really going on.

A notable recent example of LeBeouf's style of method acting are reports from the set of Fury (2014). Reports from cast and crew reveal that he purposely kept a cut open on his face and went without bathing during filming to get into the mindset of a soldier going through true hardship. Although his methods were extreme, those around him held onto a respect for the actor, even if they were a little perturbed, for his dedication to the role. 

Pictured: Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill Cutting (Gangs of New York 2002)

I’m not going to lie to you. I am not very familiar with Daniel Day-Lewis’ filmography. However, his reputation is more powerful than my ignorance. 

Day-Lewis is one of the most controversial method actors, but his reputation isn’t one of scrutiny. Day-Lewis is praised for his dedication, and well respected for it, although, at times, his methods can be extremely dangerous. 

For Gangs of New York (2002), Day-Lewis was so dedicated to his character that he insisted on wearing only period-appropriate clothing when the weather called for much more insulative fabrics at the time of filming. This led Day-Lewis to contract pneumonia for which he, thankfully, accepted the help of modern medicine. For the same movie, the actor used a prosthetic glass eye instead of a contact lens with which he learned to tap using a real knife to give a realistic auditory and visual effect to the film. 

Pictured: Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle (Taxi Driver 1976)

In my opinion, you cannot talk about method acting without mentioning Robert De Niro. He is arguably the most famous actor on our list without discrediting the talent and fame of the previous actors we have discussed.

Like LeBeouf, De Niro is known to be an eccentric person. His eccentricity, however, takes on a different sort of energy in the public eye. From my own perspective, De Niro is viewed in a more positive light amongst regular people more than LeBeouf is. Both actors, though, dive deep into their characters to create the same result of portraying a specific feeling through the screen. 

In a good number of his projects, De Niro was committed to living in similar ways as his characters. His film Taxi Driver (1976) is one of the most famous examples. De Niro not only lost 35 lbs., but he went as far as to obtain a taxi license and work 12-hour shifts as a taxi driver in New York City. Imagine getting in a taxi and your driver is Robert De Niro!

Now for everyone's least favorite part: my opinion. 

I respect artists. Acting is an art. However, there comes a time when passion is dangerous to the artist themself. I have personally experienced this dissonance. 

I am not an actor due to my crippling stage fright and hate for being on film, and, yes, I see the irony of myself being one of the faces of a podcast which is filmed, but I have a strong passion for a different art form. I have been a writer since I was in the first grade when I wrote my first book. 

You need passion to be a good writer. No matter how pretty you make the sentences, or how cool your plot is, you cannot fake the spark that comes from a true passion for writing. I have read plenty of books in my time. Some of those books were perfect on the surface. Great plots. Flawless writing. But… they lacked that little bit of energy that radiates from the pages when you read a book you just can’t put down. In a similar way, I have read books which could have been written or edited better, but the writer is so God-damn talented that you don’t care how sloppy the book may be. That passion can come from a simple love for writing, but it often comes from the writer being immersed in their story. Just like acting, though, a writer's passion can be the downfall of their overall health. 

I have never starved myself, made myself sick or put myself at risk for writing, but I have sacrificed my physical and social health in favor of staying inside all the time in front of my laptop while I was in high school. Most weekends, and even while parties were happening at my house, I was locked in my room, in the dark, staring at a screen without the ability to stop my fingers from moving across that keyboard. Yes, it made me the writer I am today, but it also socially stunted me. When I hit my twenties, I had to play a game of catch-up. 

I had to grow up very quickly in my early twenties to understand what I wanted to do with my life, how to pick the right friends, what was a healthy way of living and what I wanted for myself. It was a speed-run. Even though I did find myself, and I am very happy about where I am now, those decisions could have been figured out a lot sooner, and with less stress, if I hadn’t been so trapped within fictional stories in my teens. 

So… method acting.

I see the value in it. I can’t say I don’t. 

Method acting feels like a creative way for actors and actresses to bring their characters to life more than a script ever could. If it helps someone embody the story, to express their passion for their art, and truly make the audience feel what the character feels with just a look in their eyes… I can’t knock it. What I will criticize, though, is when those artists risk their health and safety for their projects. 

No piece of art is truly worth the life, well-being, social health, or physical and mental stability of a person.

But that’s just my opinion. What’s yours?

Sources

Barker, S. (2022). 9 Times Daniel Day-Lewis Took Method Acting to the Extreme. In ScreenRant. https://screenrant.com/daniel-day-lewis-wild-method-acting-stories/ 

Campbell, S. (2023). The wild lengths Shia LaBeouf went to for “Fury.” In Far Out Magazine. https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/wild-lengths-shia-labeouf-went-fury/ 

Chitwood, A. (2021). 7 Times Jared Leto Took Method Acting to the Extreme. In The Wrap. https://www.thewrap.com/jared-leto-method-acting-examples-movies/

LoVerde, V. (2023). 10 Outrageous Robert De Niro Method Acting Stories. In CBR. https://www.cbr.com/robert-de-niro-best-movie-acting-stories/ 

Vij, A. (2024). Jared Leto “terrified” Suicide Squad co-stars with gruesome method acting technique. In LADbible. https://www.ladbible.com/entertainment/film/jared-leto-joker-method-acting-060433-20241001