28 Moments of Method Acting and Role Prep That Went Way Too Far

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28 Moments of Method Acting and Role Prep That Went Way Too Far
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We’re not going to fault anyone for trying their hardest at their job, but when they take it to life-threatening heights, we might start throwing some highly judgmental looks around. We had a fact-finder like that around here last year. It wasn’t enough for him to find a fact about otters turning poisonous frogs inside-out to eat their innards without consuming their toxins. No, no, he had to… 

You know what? We’ll spare you the details and get to the movie facts. Here are a whole bunch of actors who should’ve dialed it back a bit on the method acting…

 

Brad Pitt in Fight Club

Brad Pitt took out a bit of his front teeth for Fight Club. Не went to the dentist to have his teeth chipped, so he could really look like a guy who fights all the time. NOW YOU KNOW CRACKED.COM

Nic Cage in Birdy

THE ACTOR: Nicolas Cage THE ROLE: Al Columbato in Birdy THE PREP: Cage had two teeth pulled without anesthetic, to help him prepare to play a soldier with painful facial injuries. Не also took to wearing a bandage around his head so he'd look more sickly when it was removed. CRACKED.COM

Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot

THE ACTOR: Daniel Day-Lewis THE ROLE: Christy Brown in My Left Foot THE PREP: Lewis was so dedicated to portraying the severely paralyzed artist and poet that he refused to eat unless he was spoon-fed by the cast and crew, on set. Не also learned to paint with his foot. CRACKED.COM

Halle Berry in Jungle Fever

THE ACTOR: Halle Berry THE ROLE: Vivian in Jungle Fever DA M Did Jeep THE PREP: Berry refused to shower for 10 days when she played a crack-addicted prostitute in Spike Lee's 1991 film. In retrospect she feels a little sorry for Samuel L. Jackson, who played her boyfriend. CRACKED.COM

Billy Bob Thornton in Sling Blade

THE ACTOR: Billy Bob Thornton THE ROLE: Karl Childers in Sling Blade THE PREP: To maintain his character's pained face and odd, shuffling gait, Thornton kept broken glass in his shoes during filming. CRACKED.COM

Jared Leto in Chapter 27

THE ACTOR: Jared Leto THE ROLE: Mark David Chapman in Chapter 27 THE PREP: Leto gained 67 pounds to play the dude who shot John Lennon. Unfortunately the movie was a flop, with a worldwide box office of less than $200,000. CRACKED.COM

Christian Bale in The Machinist

THE ACTOR: Christian Bale THE ROLE: Trevor Reznik in The Machinist THE PREP: Bale dropped 63 pounds in just four months to play a scrawny insomniac. His method? The Black Coffee Fast, made up of black coffee, an apple, and a can of tuna-about 200 calories - per day. CRACKED.COM

Ruth Wilson in Dark River

For Dark River, Ruth Wilson learned to shear sheep, gut rabbits, and castrate lambs. She spent three weeks on a rundown farm, with sheep S**t everywhere to learn those skills. Once shooting ended, she said she didn't want to see sheep ever again. CRACKED.COM

Margot Robbie in Suicide Squad

For Suicide Squad, Margot Robbie learned to hold her breath underwater for five minutes. The reason she got up to five minutes is that she was one-upping her stunt double, Ingrid, in their training program. When she heard Ingrid made it to five and a half minutes, she wanted to beat her - but they made her stop, telling her, No one needs to drown over this. CRACKED.COM

Aaron Eckhart in Rabbit Hole

In Rabbit Hole Aaron Eckhart is a mourning father who lost his son. To get the feel, Eckhart attended a support group and made up a story...pretending he had lost his child. CRACKED.COM

Robert Pattinson in Good Time

Robert Pattinson acted like a weirdo to prepare for his role as a robber in Good Time. Не lived in a basement apartment, just like his character, and kept the curtains closed for two months. Не jokingly said that he may have had mercury poisoning because he ate cans of tuna during that time. CRACKED.COM

Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables

Les Misérables For the near-death look of Fantine in Les Misérables, Anne Hathaway ate only two thin squares of dried oatmeal paste a day. CRACKED.COM

Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams in Blue Valentine

CRACKED.COM BLUE VALENTINE Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams prepared for their roles by living together with their on-screen daughter for a month and pretending as if they were an actual family. They even celebrated a fake Christmas together.

Tilda Swinton in Suspiria

To really get into character as an 82-year-old guy in Suspiria, Tilda Swinton had the makeup department make a prosthetic penis and balls she could wear. It was a nice, weighty set of genitalia so that she could feel it dangling between her legs, as a makeup artist described it. She even whipped it out a few times on set. CRACKED.COM

Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña in End of Watch

Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña would go on ride-alongs CRACKED.COM with the LAPD for five months to be ready to play cops in the film End of Watch. They would have 12-hour shifts from 4 pm to 4 am. They got to see domestic violence, family problems, stolen cars and even a man shot dead.

Adrien Brody in The Pianist

METHOD MADNESS THE PIANIST ADRIEN BRODY as a Holocaust survivor The already thin actor dropped 30 pounds to play Holocaust survivor Wladyslaw Szpilman. Не gave up his apartment, sold his car, and disconnected his phone, so his girlfriend at the time dumped him. CRACKED

Jim Carrey in Man on the Moon

METHOD MADNESS MAN ON THE MOON JIM CARREY as Andy Kaufman Carrey won a Golden Globe, but Martin Freeman called his behavior on set f-ing narcissistic. The idea that anything in our culture would celebrate that is deranged. You're not supposed to become the character! CRACKED

Oldboy

METHOD MADNESS OLDBOY CHOI MIN-SIK His character Dae- su spends 15 years in prison, so he branded himself once for each year. Не also ate an entire living octopus in a single take, then said, I felt sorry for the octopus. CRACKED

Ashton Kutcher in Jobs

METHOD MADNESS JOBS ASHTON KUTCHER Steve Jobs was a fruitarian,living on a mainly-fruit diet, and Kutcher replicated this. His wife Mila Kunis said, Не was so dumb. Не ... only ate grapes at one point... We ended up in the hospital twice. With pancreatitis! It was really dumb! CRACKED

Daniel Day-Lewis

METHOD MADNESS DANIEL DAY-LEWIS GANGS OF NEW YORK Не caught pneumonia after refusing to wear a coat between scenes (since those coats didn't exist in the 1860s). Не said, I will admit that I went mad, totally mad, and the role was, not so good for my physical or mental health. CRACKED

Rooney Mara in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

METHOD MADNESS THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO ROONEY MARA's many piercings To play Lisbeth Salander, Mara bleached her eyebrows, chopped off her hair and had her eyebrow, lip, nose, and nipples pierced. She also learned martial arts, skateboarding, and motorcycle riding. CRACKED

Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby

METHOD MADNESS HILARY SWANK's near death experience MILLION DOLLAR BABY RNADOS months, and gained days 19 pounds of pure She trained six week for three a muscle. A huge blister on her foot developed a Staph infection that doctors said was mere hours from reaching her heart. CRACKED

Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman

METHOD MADNESS SCENT OF A WOMAN When AL PACINO went blind While filming, he claimed to actually be blind. Не tripped over things that he couldn't see, and he sent Chris O'Donnell a letter saying, I couldn't tell what you were doing because I sort of never saw you. From what I've heard, your performance is outstanding. CRACKED

Sylvester Stallone in Rocky IV

METHOD MADNESS ROCKY IV SYLVESTER STALLONE For authenticity, he asked Dolph Lundgren to just go out there and clock me, and ended up in the ICU for nine days. Doctors said that Lundgren's punch hit his heart against his ribcage- an injury seen after head-on collisions. CRACKED

Kate Winslet in The Reader

METHOD MADNESS THE READER KATE WINSLET as a Nazi After portraying a concentration camp guard, Winslet admitted that it took her months to recover from the role. It's like I've escaped from a serious car accident and need to understand what has just happened. CRACKED

Shia LaBeouf in Fury

METHOD MADNESS FURY SHIA LABEOUF Не pulled out his own tooth, even though no one asked him to. In his method acting, he got overly confrontational with the cast, and refused to shower for weeks. Brad Pitt confronted him about his attitude and distracting odor. CRACKED

Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada

METHOD MADNESS THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA MERYL STREEP as Miranda Priestly Her performance was Oscar nominated, but she said it was the last time she'd ever attempt method acting. It was horrible. I was miserable in my trailer. I could hear them all laughing... I was so depressed! CRACKED

Tom Hanks in Castaway

METHOD MADNESS CASTAWAY TOM HANKS On top of losing 50 pounds, he didn't shower for the role and was hospitalized for three days with a Staph infection. His doctor said, I have to put you in the hospital because we have to get this infection out of you before it poisons your blood and you die. CRACKED

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