7 Actors & Actresses Who Took Method Acting to the Extreme

Method acting is a renowned technique in Hollywood, allowing actors and actresses to deeply connect with their characters. This method demands extensive preparation beyond the screen, often involving physical transformations. Performers adopt the mannerisms, body language, and even undergo significant weight loss to authentically portray their roles. As Lee Strasberg famously stated, “Method acting is what all actors have always done whenever they acted well.” With that in mind, let’s explore some of the most dedicated method actors and actresses!

7. Michelle Williams

To portray Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn, Michelle Williams delved deep into research. She studied books about Monroe, explored the literature the star enjoyed, immersed herself in method acting texts, and kept recordings of Monroe’s voice on her iPod. Additionally, she extensively watched Monroe’s films.

“I began with The Prince and the Showgirl,” she shared with the National Post. “I watched the film while my daughter was at school, absorbing every detail, pausing frequently to practice what I observed, making numerous errors, feeling utterly lost, until one day, everything began to click.”

Williams went further in her preparation. She dressed in Monroe’s signature outfits, including a snug dress, a push-up bra, and high heels, and practiced the actress’s iconic walk. To perfect it, she even tied her knees together.

6. Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman didn’t plan to use method acting for Black Swan, but it happened naturally. She trained rigorously for six months, dedicating five hours daily to ballet, cross-training, and swimming. Like her character, she ate very little and lost 20 pounds. “I was barely eating, working 16 hours a day. I unintentionally slipped into method acting. I now wonder how others manage such roles with a family,” she told the Daily Mail. “It was the hardest experience of my life. I usually like to return to my normal self, but this role consumed me.”

Portman’s depiction of the driven ballerina was remarkably authentic. Her performance earned her both the Golden Globe and the Academy Award for Best Actress.

5. Christian Bale

For his role in the psychological thriller The Machinist, Christian Bale fully embraced his character, Trevor Reznik. He shed 63 pounds by surviving on coffee and apples, dropping to a mere 121 pounds by the end of filming.

Bale revealed that he had been without work for some time before securing this role. “I hadn’t come across scripts that truly captivated me. I was eager for something meaningful. When this script arrived, I couldn’t put it down. After finishing it, I immediately wanted to revisit it to uncover the subtle clues I might have missed,” he told the BBC. “There are many hints, but they’re masterfully subtle. Sometimes you find a great character in a mediocre film, but this seemed like both a great character and a potentially outstanding movie.”

4. Hilary Swank

Hilary Swank immersed herself deeply into her role as a transgender man in Boys Don’t Cry. The then relatively unknown actress spent a month living as a man, binding her chest with bandages and padding her pants with socks. She also lowered her body fat to seven percent to sharpen her facial features and insisted on staying in character at all times, even avoiding being seen by the cast and crew out of costume. Her neighbors reportedly mistook her for a male relative, failing to recognize her during her comings and goings.

“I spent five weeks living as a boy before filming,” she explained. “I experimented with what worked and what didn’t, and I shed a lot of body fat to slim down my face. My neighbors thought I was my cousin Billy from Iowa.”

3. Forest Whitaker

Forest Whitaker fully embraced method acting to portray Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland. He gained 50 pounds, learned Swahili, and perfected Amin’s East African accent. He also studied books, watched documentaries, and traveled to Uganda to meet with Amin’s family, friends, generals, and victims.

“I went to Uganda to understand what it meant to be Ugandan…I sat with Idi Amin’s brother under a mango tree, listening to stories about his life and how he organized sports games. This helped me grasp his behavior and mindset, so much so that I was consumed by the character of Idi Amin 24/7, even in my dreams,” Whitaker told The Guardian. “Only after filming ended did I decide to let go of the character. The first thing I did was take a shower, hoping to scrub him away. Alone in a room, I shouted to expel his voice and reclaim my own.”

2. Jared Leto

To authentically play a drug-addicted transgender woman in Dallas Buyers Club, Jared Leto fully committed to method acting. He dropped 30 pounds, removed his eyebrows, waxed his body, and remained in drag both on and off set. He stayed in character around the clock and consulted with members of the transgender community to refine his portrayal.

Matthew McConaughey, Leto’s co-star, praised his dedication. “Some might have been bothered by Jared staying in character all the time, but it worked for him and for me. It would have been easy to turn this role into a caricature, but Jared kept Rayon grounded in her humanity. He aimed for authenticity, which made acting alongside him effortless and genuine,” he said. Leto’s performance earned him the Oscar, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor.

1. Eddie Redmayne

Eddie Redmayne immersed himself in Stephen Hawking’s life for his role in The Theory of Everything. He spent half a year studying Hawking, watching interviews, and collaborating with a movement coach to mimic his physicality. Redmayne also reviewed medical texts and spoke with nurses who cared for Hawking to understand the progression of his condition. “I prepared for four intense months. I visited the London clinic where he was treated, met others with similar conditions, and trained muscles I’d never used before. It was a privilege but also incredibly daunting,” he told Page Six.

Redmayne’s dedication has clearly paid off, earning him the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award, Oscar, and BAFTA Award for Best Actor for his outstanding performance.