subject: The Dangerous World Of Method Acting [print this page] There has, and will continue to be, confusion around the term Method Acting for the simple sake that everyone has their own opinion how to method act and what it entails. For the sake of making people angry and to add confusion to the article, I will lose the term loosely and incorrectly.
Method acting has been said to have revitalized American acting. Breathtaking and surreal performances have come from actors who attempt to not only act out their characters on set, but take to heart the very psyche that makes the character unique. Here are some of the most influential and moving performances and method actors of our generation.
Heath Ledger as The Joker
After being labeled a teenage heartthrob after his performance in 10 Things I Hate About You, Heath Ledger quickly broke out of the stereotype by successfully knocking a variety of roles out of the park. Sadly, his best performance, and one that will stand the test of time, was one of his last. The Dark Knights
primary villain only known as, The Joker, is portrayed by Heath Ledger in such a way that it physically makes the audience uncomfortable. It is rumored that Ledger actually locked himself in a room for an entire month before filming began in order to watch footage of psychotic patients in order to get into the characters head. People have gone as far as to attribute Ledgers over commitment to the role as a main factor in his death.
Robert De Niro in The Taxi Driver
Robert De Niro is known as one of the best method actors ever. But he has moved away from it since he considered to be unhealthy for him and people around him. In The Taxi Driver, De Niro plays Travis Bickle who is an ex-Marine and Vietnam War veteran. Bickle slowly devolves into an increasingly dark and moody character who is at odds with the world around him, only seeing the negative in the city of New York. He takes it upon himself to rid the world of those who make it a darker place, although he himself becomes one of these people in turn. De Niro was said to be downright unbearable while he was in this role for, like Heath Ledger, he stayed in character for the entirety of the filming.
Christian Bale as the Machinist and Batman
The world renown actor is infamous for his 150% dedication to every role he plays. For his role in The Machinist, he went on a diet of coffee and apples which dropped his weight at a staggering rate to the point of which doctors had to intervene to prevent him from doing permanent harm to himself. He then had to turn around and gain 100 pounds for his role in the Batman movies, and he ended up losing a lot of weight in between these films for his role in The Fighter. Incredibly dedicated to his roles would be an understatement for this method actor.
