Do you remember the night that Leonardo Di Caprio passed through the carcass of an animal to prepare the Revenant ? This is called “method acting”. Also called the Stanislavski System, this technique invented by a Russian drama teacher assumes a total assimilation of the character by the actor. In recent years, the method has been heavily criticized in Hollywood. But Andrew Garfield decided to restore its image. The 39-year-old actor defended her on the microphone of the podcast WTF With Marc MaronAugust 22, 2022.
” It worked for me. It was an incredible spiritual experience,” begins the star of The Amazing Spider-Man. He talks about the shooting of the film Silenceof Martin Scorsese, in which he plays a Jesuit priest. “I had created real spiritual rituals for myself. That was too cool. I had grandiose and bizarre experiences starving myself and forbidding myself to have sex during this period,” he confides. Garfield even admits that he is “annoyed by people who say that this method is bad”. According to him, “it is possible to apply it without being an asshole. You have to remain polite and respectful with the film crew, and of course know how to let go of the role when necessary. »
A paying technique…
With “method acting”, the actor follows the same daily life as his character throughout the filming, even when the camera is off. An effective and profitable method. When she turned black swan, Natalie Portman trained in classical dance for five hours a day, while following a very strict diet, explains the New York Times. A performance that won her an Oscar for Best Actress in 2011.
All the same for Adrian Brody. The star actor of Pianist practiced the instrument several hours a day so that his performances were credible on screen, relates the Guardian. He also moved to Europe during the filming, but also disconnected his phone and sold his car. Physically, he lost a lot of weight by following a special diet, to really blend in with the misery of the inhabitants of the Warsaw ghetto during the Second World War. He also left with a statuette at the Oscars ceremony in 2003.
…but potentially dangerous
The technique also revealed the shortcomings of certain actors. The best known remains Jared Leto. For example, he would have sent a rat by post to Margot Robbieas they both turned to Suicide Squad, in they embodied the star-crossed lovers, the Joker and Harley Quinn. Another convincing example is that of Heath Ledger. Also interpreter of the worst enemy of Batman, the actor locked himself up for several months in a hotel room and banged his head on the walls himself during filming. He died of an overdose in 2008, a few months before the film’s release.
Today, several Hollywood figureheads refuse to practice it. Among them are Mads Mikkelsen, David Harbor or Sebastian Stan who describes it as evidence of “irresponsible and narcissistic” behavior, according to the Huffington Post.
Andrew Garfield defends the “method acting”, this technique so controversial in Hollywood