13 Times Method Actors Went Too Far

Hunter S. Thompson prepared for his role as Raoul Duke, Thompson's alter ego, inFear and Loathing in Las VegasJohnny Depp moved into Thompson's house and became the author's student.Hunter S. ThompsonHe was a little eccentric. Case in point: He lived in a basement with barrels of live gunpowder.

Depp worked hard.Depp mimicked the man. He woke up at 9 pm and followed Thompson's strange daily routine. The actor let Thompson shave his head and took the writer's old clothes, which allegedly hadn't been washed in 30 years.

Ray Charles, a musician, was blind since childhood. For 14 hours a day, Jamie Foxx chose to sacrifice his sight. The actorhe glued his eyelids togetherFoxx wanted to portray Charles accurately for the 2004 film role.RayFoxx handled temporary blindness.

He also lost 30 pounds to capture Charles's essence.

To portray a famous gangster, what matters most? Should you eat their food, live where they lived, or use their vices? Do you need to meet relatives, or watch old interviews and court footage to learn how they acted? Should you wear their underwear?

Robert De NiroDe Niro focused on wearing the same underwear as his character. He prepared for his role as Al Capone inThe UntouchablesDe Niro wore distinct silk underwear—the type Capone reportedly preferred—during the entire film's production.

Steve Jobs had a strange relationship with traditional Western views on health and nutrition. Later, he got fatal pancreatic cancer.Some people believehis refusal to use Western medicine caused his early death.

Whatever the case,Ashton Kutcher copiedJobs's fruit diet while preparing for the biopic.JobsKutcher and Jobs ended up in the hospital. At the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, Kutcher notedKutcher noted:

: First of all, the fruitarian diet can lead to... some severe issues. I ended up in the hospital like two days before we started shooting the movie. I was... doubled over in pain. My pancreas levels were completely out of whack, which was really terrifying... considering everything.

Władysław Szpilman lostso much because of the Holocaust. To portray Szpilman accurately inThe Pianistactor Adrien Brody willingly accepted loss. He got rid of nearly all his possessions, includinghis apartment, car, cellphone, and—according to several reports—even his girlfriend.

The Crucibletakes place in 1600s Massachusetts, featuring period-accurate settings. Actor Daniel Day-Lewis playedJohn ProctorDay-Lewis built some buildings for the movieusing tools from that era.

In fact, Day-Lewis spent every moment on set pretending to live in the 1600s. Actress Charlayne Woodard said:

When they yelled "Cut!" he did not just go to craft services for jelly beans. He sat on something, took out an old knife, and began carving wood.

Val Kilmer did not want to copy Jim Morrison; he sought to be The Doors' lead singer.Kilmer learned to play and sing.Kilmer played 50 songs by the legendary group, though only 15 made the film. Kilmer's singing sounded like Morrison's. Much of the live music in the 1991 film showed this.The Doors appears in the list '13 Times Method Actors Went Too Far'.The Doors featured the actor's voice.

William Poole, also Bill the Butcher, was a real gangster. He became Poole for the film.Gangs of New York appears in the list '13 Times Method Actors Went Too Far'.Daniel Day-Lewis became somewhat criminal himself.The actor shared this.

I had to prepare. I admit I went mad, totally mad. I remembered fighting on the Millwall terraces, and that helped me for Bill the Butcher. He was punk, a great character, and fun—but bad for my body and mind.

For the film, Day-Lewis trained as a butcher. He caught pneumonia from his old coat's poor insulation. He wandered streets fighting random people.

Hilary Swank got the role of Brandon Teena for the film.Boys Don't Cry appears in the list '13 Times Method Actors Went Too Far'.Swank was not a well-known actress.She knew appears in the list '13 Times Method Actors Went Too Far'.playing a trans man would be hard. Since Swank was not famous yet, she could go out daily dressed as a man to work the role. She even introduced herself as Swank's brother James.

Later, she talked about the experience:

There was something I will never have back: I was not famous. I had nothing to hide. People did not say, "Ha, you look like that actress." That never happened. Now I cannot go out and try new characters; people would ask, "What are you doing? Why are you acting like that?"

When Jim Carrey got to play comedian Andy Kaufman inMan on the Moon appears in the list '13 Times Method Actors Went Too Far'., he gave himself to the acting. Kaufman was known for strange stunts and pranks. He once fought professional wrestler Jerry "The King" Lawler inDavid Letterman's show appears in the list '13 Times Method Actors Went Too Far'.. Their fight moved to the wrestling ring. Lawler used a pile driver move, putting Kaufman in the hospital.

Carrey wanted to copy that scene with Lawler, but the athlete refused. So Carrey spat on Lawler, making him angry enough to attack. Like Kaufman, CarreyCarrey ended up in the hospital..

Abraham Lincoln wrote letters often.He was a letter writer.. So when Daniel Day-Lewis prepared for his role as the 16th American president in the historical dramaLincoln appears in the list '13 Times Method Actors Went Too Far'., he spoke and acted like Lincoln. Specifically,he texted his co-star and on-screen wife, Sally Field, as if she were Mrs. Lincoln.Lincoln and on-screen wife, Sally Field, acted as if she were Mrs. Lincoln.

Seven months before filming began, Day-Lewis wanted Field to act like a woman from the Lincoln era. This commitment reached the rest of the cast too. After the movie finished, co-star Joseph Gordon-Levitt claimed he never met Day-Lewis; he only met Lincoln.

Jared Leto's intense method acting techniques helped win him an Oscar.Filming Dallas Buyers Club helped win him an Oscar.While filming Dallas Buyers Club, Dallas Buyers ClubLeto claimed he lost about 40 pounds for the role of Rayon. He told TheWrap, "I stopped eating. It was 30 or 40 pounds. After a while, I stopped counting."He told TheWrap."I stopped eating. It was 30 or 40 pounds. After a while, I stopped counting."

When Austin Butler won a Golden Globe for playing Elvis in the Baz Luhrmann biopic, the internet had a field day.Twitter users joked about the actor's acceptance speech, which featured his Elvis accent. Users joked Butler was either possessed by Elvis's ghost or had adopted the southern twang permanently.

But according to Butler's Elvisvoice coach, Irene Bartlett, that might be how the actor talks now:

What you saw in that Golden Globes speech is him. It is genuine; it is not fake. [...] I feel sorry people say that, you know, it is still acting [but] he has taken [the voice of Presley] on board.

Butler spent two years preparing for the King of Rock and Roll role. Bartlett said the COVID shutdown meant the actor worked on his accent "all the time." She added, the accent might "be there forever."

Butler said being around Elvis images tends to "trigger" the accent, comparing it to muscle memory. "[Y]our mouth can change," he told one news outlet.told one news outlet. "Check in with me in 20 years when I’ve played a lot of roles. Who knows what I’ll sound like!"

When asked about itat the Golden Globes, Butler said:

It is hard for me to talk about… I cannot really reflect on it much. I do not know the difference…

I do not think I sound like him still, but I guess I must because I hear it often… I often compare it to someone living in another country for a long time… I had three years where [Elvis] was my only focus in life, so I am sure there are just pieces of my DNA that will always be linked that way.

The next month, Butler appeared on The Graham Norton Showand reported, “I am getting rid of the accent, but I have probably damaged my vocal cords with all that singing… One song took 40 takes.”