Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky (“Caught Stealing”) is sounding off on method acting and isn’t a huge fan of that style of acting, despite it being an extremely popular way of getting into and staying in character for a heightened performance.
Over the weekend, Aronofsky told a crowd at a Paris masterclass (via Variety), “I hate Method actors,” and continuing by slamming it as “just something to hide behind, as opposed to doing the work and being professional.”
“[By all means,] do a tremendous amount of research and really work hard, but acting’s make believe,” Aronofsky said of Method acting. “If you’re going to do an intense scene, [there’s nothing wrong with] keeping yourself isolated, focused, and ready in between takes to maintain that emotion. It’s a sport, a game — only, to be a great basketball player, you don’t have to be dribbling all the time. That’s not how it works. You do your homework and get yourself ready. It’s only a fake reality between action and cut.”
“It’s fine if that’s how [these actors] want to spend their time,” the filmmaker added. “But I just encourage them to relax a bit!”
The director’s stance here is quite perplexing given that his lead actor on “Caught Stealing,” Austin Butler, was famously in the Method mode for the Oscar-nominated performance in “Elvis” and even had trouble shaking off the seductive voice. We have to imagine that Butler is also not the only actor who has collaborated with Aronofsky in the past and that have been a champion of the technique and has most likely used it on his sets.
High-profile actors such as Daniel Day-Lewis, Christian Bale, and even Aronofsky’s “Black Swan” Best Actress Oscar-winner Natalie Portman are some that have used Method on projects.
On deck for Darren Aronofsky is a remake of the Stephen King horror film adaptation, “Cujo,” for streaming giant Netflix.
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