Elena Hijazi | Staff Writer

Ah, method acting: the art in which the actor not only PLAYS the character, but BECOMES the character. Many great actors such as Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Daniel Day-Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Joaquin Phoenix, the late Heath Ledger, Jared Leto, and Jim Carrey, among many others, are method actors. An impressive list, no? Because of this, many people believe that method acting equals great acting as it makes the performance genuine and very human, and this is backed up with some convincing evidence in the form of the top-notch names mentioned prior. However, though it brings about great cinematic and theatric performances, method acting can sometimes go way too far.

When I say the actor becomes the character, I mean that they act like the character both on-screen and off, which is quite an intense process. This type of acting is helpful in situations where the actor is playing someone with a different accent or tone of voice than them, or with distinct mannerisms, for instance. It breaks the barrier between the fake character and the real human playing them by enhancing the movements and sound of the actor to seemingly fit appropriately to the script.

On the other hand, as phenomenal actor Robert Pattinson, who is NOT a method actor, once said, “You don’t see actors going method when playing a nice guy.” That could not be any truer. For example, Joker is a character that is infamously associated with method acting, as the four men who have played him – Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, Jared Leto, and Joaquin Phoenix – all “went method” with him. It is safe to say that the Joker is not particularly a nice guy. Leto sent his costars dead animals while shooting “Suicide Squad” as his way of going method, while Phoenix embodied the character so well that he started getting fiery with director Tod Philips on “Joker”. I personally do not see the relevance of those actions in improving the authenticity of their roles; these are just some examples of unnecessary outcomes from method acting that do more harm than good.

Additionally, Jim Carrey played the late comedian, Andy Kaufman, in the biopic, “Man on the Moon”. He was playing a real-life human being that lived, loved, and died, not a fictional character. He decided to go full method, portraying this man on and off-screen. He even met Andy’s family and refused to break character despite the director and the family members begging him to stop because he was wreaking havoc and chaos on set and emotionally harming Andy’s family members. This is outrageously insane behavior, so much so, that a Netflix documentary was made about the behind-the-scenes of this movie because, as the director put it, “the real movie was happening behind the scenes”.

Moreover, many people believe the reason Heath Ledger died was because the Joker consumed his mind, as he died a few months after shooting “The Dark Knight”. This is obviously a stretch, and it is arguably disrespectful to insensitively theorize on a man’s death. That being said, I don’t see how him trapping himself in a hotel room for two weeks really helped him deliver his Oscar-worthy performance of Joker. It seemed to only harm his mental health greatly, which is never a good enough reason for perfecting a role.

To sum up, method acting shows the privilege that these actors have to completely change their identities for the sake of a role. It goes too far when it messes with the entire movie production, when it becomes traumatizing to the people around them, and when it takes an immeasurable toll on the mental health of the actor. All are cases that happened with Carrey, Leto, and Ledger respectively.

When someone says, “blank went method”, we immediately associate that with them putting their all into a certain role, but one should be aware that a performance is meant to be played, not lived. Method acting is great in certain cases, and it does prove the actors’ dedication to the craft, but to a certain extent. Christian Bale is known for his extreme physical transformations for his roles, but he admittedly states that he loses and gains weight in an unhealthy manner. Putting one’s physical health on the line for a role should not be a normalized thing. The “American Psycho” actor does not mind using his body as a transformative vessel to portray characters where he is deemed unrecognizable.

Most recently, actor Austin Butler went method for his role as Elvis Presley in the movie “Elvis”, and if you watch any interview of his, you can tell that the tone of his voice has changed tremendously because of that. Of course, actors play up their stories about what they sacrificed for their roles to turn the heads of the critics towards them around award season, so it could be that.

To conclude, there should be limits when your mind and body are the medium for your art. Method acting must be done with caution, method acting does not necessarily mean good acting (think Jared Leto as Joker), and many performances that were not method were phenomenal (think Margot Robbie in I, Tonya).

This is my take on method acting, I bestow it upon you with an open mind and heart. Thank you for taking the time to read this.