10 Actors You Didn’t Know Were Method Actors

Method acting is a range of acting that allows the actor or actress get into complete character by acting, talking, and living like the character the actor or actress is portraying. By transforming into a character completely, the actor or actress is hoping to embody who they’re playing whole-heartedly.

There are plenty of techniques professional actors take part in to get into their role but method acting is one of the most intense. From starving themselves to selling their apartment and living in their car, method acting is not for the faint of heart, and yet a handful of actors take on method acting in hopes of taking home the Best Actor award.

10 Kerry Washington

Kerry Washington has been growing her career ever since she played Jasmine in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Since then she’s been in the TV mini-series Black Panther, Django Unchained, Scandal, and Hulu’s Little Fires Everywhere. Lexi Underwood played Kerry’s daughter Pearl in Little Fires Everywhere, and she noted how Kerry was very much a method actor.

She said, “Miss Kerry is what helped pull out the raw emotion needed for filming, including her Method acting techniques.” Because of Kerry, Underwood was able to give emotional scenes quickly.

9 Jim Carrey

Comedian genius, Jim Carrey, has been making audiences laugh since the ’80s. Ever since his Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, his career has been on an upward ladder. However, it was his role in Man on the Moon that got people’s attention for his method acting techniques.

According to Thrillist, Carrey said he was lying on a beach when he got the news that he won the part of Andy Kaufman and he immediately wondered what Kaufman would be doing. What happens next was “out of [his] control,” Carrey said. He had people call him Andy, he drove a car with a bag over his head, and he demanded to see Steven Spielberg while he was on set for another movie.

8 Halle Berry

Legendary actress Halle Berry made a splash in her movie role as Vivian in 1991s Jungle Fever. In the movie, Berry had a small role as a drug addict. To get inside the mind of an addict who would do anything for a high, Berry visited a crack den and took notes as research. To get further into character, Berry didn’t bathe for two weeks prior to filming!

Since Jungle Fever, Berry has gone on to be a lead actress in films like Swordfish, Monster’s Ball, and Catwoman.

7 Forest Whitaker

Forest Whitaker has been in the industry since the ’80s and has made a name for himself in the action/thriller genre. Whitaker totally sells the roles he plays, no matter the part. In 2006, Whitaker took the part of  Ugandan President, Idi Amin.

To get in Armin’s mind, Whitaker spent three months living in Uganda, gained 30 pounds, and learned how to speak Swahili for the role. He even spent time with Armin’s family and those he closely worked with. His method of acting paid off because he took home a Golden Globe, an Academy Award, and a BAFTA for his portrayal.

6 Kate Winslet

Kate Winslet is much more than her time in Titanic. She’s won awards for her roles in Revolutionary Road, Steve Jobs, Mildred Pierce, and most importantly The Reader. In The Reader, Winslet played Hanna, a German Nazi guard during the Second World War. To be as authentic as possible, Winslet adopted a German accent and would speak that way at home to her kids. She also found it hard to leave Hanna and become herself again.

According to Contact Music, Winslet said, “When I leave a character, I have to analyze the trance through which I have just passed. It can take me several months to say goodbye to them.”

5 Ashton Kutcher

Knowing that Ashton Kutcher normally takes goofier roles, no one expected him to turn to method acting when it came time to portray Steve Jobs in Jobs. But when it came time to transform into one of the world’s most well-known tech geniuses, Kutcher did what Jobs did.

For months, Kutcher watched Jobs in interviews, talk shows, and documentaries to learn how to sound and move like Jobs. I noticed how he used his hands to talk and how he counted with his fingers (pinky finger first), how he used the word ‘aaaaand’ and ‘noooow’ to think about what he was going to say next,” Kutcher told fans in an online forum. Kutcher was even hospitalized for going on the fruit diet that Jobs was on!

4 Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman is one child actress who successfully became a sought after adult actress. She’s won countless awards over the years for multiple roles, and now it appears that she has method acting to thank for it.

For the role of Nina Sayers in Black Swan, Portman lost 20 pounds and trained for eight hours a day to be seen as an authentic ballerina. However, eating less and enduring intense training made Portman feel like she “was going to die.” It was her role as Nina that she realized she could be taken “down” by a role.

3 Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks has done it all: comedy, drama, action, thriller… He’s also a writer and producer. His voice is beloved as Woody in Toy Story, his poised behavior in Captain Phillips, and the connection he had with Meg Ryan in You Got Mail.

However, it was his role in Cast Away that took him over the edge. He didn’t cut his hair or bathe, which was severe enough to give him a staph infection. He also lost 50 pounds to look like he too was starved. He did similar things for his role as Paul Edgecomb in The Green Mile.

2 Chloë Sevigny

Chloë Sevigny hit it big with her series Big Love when she won a Golden Globe. But it’s her role as Daisy in Brown Bunny that has our attention for her method acting. In the movie, Daisy had an intimate scene with a male co-star that turned out to be 100% real.

She told those at the Cannes Film Festival that she doesn’t regret her choice of acting or doing the controversial scene, “I wish I had the confidence I had now. I was insecure. Everyone says, ‘what do you regret?’ And I know that they want me to say The Brown Bunny, but I won’t.”

1 Michael B. Jordan

Michael B. Jordan is on top of the world right now. It appears to be hit after hit for the actor. From The Wire to Creed to Black Panther, Jordan isn’t slowing down any time soon. However, after portraying Black Panther’s Erik Killmonger, Jordan had to seek therapy to get out of that space.

Just like Erik, Jordan prepared by spending a lot of time alone. “I shut out love, I didn’t want love. I wanted to be in this lonely place as long as I could,” he said. The dark space he was in did the trick for Black Panther but it drove Jordan’s mind into the ground. Luckily, therapy helped the actor bounce back.

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Lynn Gibbs
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Lynn is a nomad who travels the globe on the hunt for her next adventure with her husband. A lover of being outside (and finding the best latte in town), Lynn is typically hiking, walking, or jogging when she’s not focusing on her love of writing. When it comes to shows streaming on Netflix or anything Bravo-related, Lynn’s your gal.

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