• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
David Harbour Slams Method Acting

Home> Film & TV

Published 08:53 14 Jul 2022 GMT+1

David Harbour Slams Method Acting

Some actors go in for method acting but David Harbour really isn't a fan.

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

Stranger Things star David Harbour has slammed method acting as 'dangerous' and 'silly'.

When getting into character some actors learn their lines and try to think about the mental state their character is in.

Others go a few steps further and actually put themselves through similar experiences to their character.

If their character is tired they'll get tired, if their character is sad they'll make themselves sad and so on, anything to make their performance on either the big screen or the small screen as realistic as possible.

Advert

This is method acting and some of the highest profile actors in the world swear by it, especially since it's won them a truckload of Oscars.

From Adrian Brody wrecking his own life for The Pianist to basically everything Daniel Day-Lewis has ever done, it's a tried and tested way of getting powerhouse performances out of actors.

David Harbour isn't the biggest fan of method acting.
Alamy

However, Harbour himself is not a fan, with the 47-year-old explaining that he himself had been trained in method acting but didn't think it resulted in a better performance.

Advert

He said: "When I was younger - it’s so embarrassing - but I remember playing that famous Scottish king and being like, 'I’m gonna kill a cat' or something. 'I’m gonna go murder something to know what it feels like to murder'.

"I didn’t actually do it, obviously. Not only is that stuff silly, it’s dangerous, and it actually doesn’t produce good work."

The actor particularly picked out award winning star Daniel Day-Lewis, who he praised as 'extraordinary' but admitted sounded like 'nonsense' when he tried to explain his method.

Method acting can bag you the big awards, as Daniel Day-Lewis can attest.
Alamy

Advert

Not all actors who use method acting actually plan to do so, some directors try 'enforced method acting' by pulling surprises on their stars with varying results.

Die Hard director John McTiernan famously dropped Alan Rickman sooner than the actor expected to produce a real expression of shock on his face.

It certainly worked in that case, but it can backfire as Ed Harris punched James Cameron in the face while working on The Abyss when the director kept filming while his leading man nearly drowned.

Alan Rickman is method acting here in Die Hard, not that it was his choice.
Alamy

Advert

Meanwhile, some of the method acting stories go over the line from understandable to creepy, as Jared Leto sent used condoms and live rats to his co-stars while working on Suicide Squad.

Really, the best response to method acting has already been delivered by Laurence Olivier to Dustin Hoffman on the set of 1976 film Marathon Man.

Upon hearing that co-star Hoffman had purposefully stayed awake for three days straight as a scene demanded that his character be exhausted, Olivier said: "My dear boy, have you tried acting?"

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: Film and TV, David Harbour, Jared Leto

Joe Harker
Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

X

@MrJoeHarker

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

3 hours ago
8 hours ago
15 hours ago
19 hours ago
  • 3 hours ago

    Netflix fans given weeks to watch 16 seasons of 'addictive' drama before it's removed for good

    Viewers are begging for the series to stay

    Film & TV
  • 8 hours ago

    Legendary actor Michael Madsen has died aged 67

    Madsen was best known for his roles in Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill

    Film & TV
  • 15 hours ago

    Netflix viewers rave over forgotten series compared to Black Mirror

    There's been high praise for the Netflix series that first dropped on the streaming platform in 2019

    Film & TV
  • 19 hours ago

    Amazon Prime Video shines light on Idaho murders as friends who discovered bodies speak out

    A new docuseries is coming to Amazon Prime Video, focusing on the grisly murder of four students in their home

    Film & TV
  • Anne Hathaway Caused Jared Leto To Break 'Intense' Method Acting In Bizarre Moment
  • Stranger Things star reveals why he's finally ready for beloved Netflix show to come to an end
  • David Harbour shares how Bruce Willis’ John McClane influenced his Santa Claus in Violent Night
  • David Harbour Wants Jacob Elordi As Young Hopper For Stranger Things Spin-Off