Method acting is a technique in which the actor seeks to put oneself in the shoes of their character's sentiments and life experiences. Actors often go to extreme lengths to prepare for a character.
Hollywood actor Tom Holland recently revealed, he used to secretly tend bars in London in preparation for his film, 'Uncharted,' which is based on the popular video game of the same name.
Holland discussed his preparation for the major role of Nathan Drake, the protagonist of the 'Uncharted' game series, in a recent interview with SiriusXM's Jessica Shaw. He discussed taking bartender lessons to better prepare himself and even served a few lucky customers in a London pub.
Turns out it's not just Holland, other actors like Robert Pattinson, Ashton Kutcher, and Robert De Niro have gone to extreme lengths to ensure that they look a part of the film.
Robert Pattinson
Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe, and filmmaker Robert Eggers all had a difficult time filming 'The Lighthouse,' but the 'Twilight' actor was the most impacted. In an interview with Esquire, Pattinson revealed the extent to which he went to get into character as a lighthouse keeper. “Because you’re playing a mad person, it means you can sort of be mad the whole time,” he said. Pattinson added, “Well, not the whole time, but for like an hour before the scene. You can literally just be sitting on the floor growling and licking up puddles of mud.” He also got so drunk for scenes where the characters are intoxicated that he would pretty much blackout.
Leonardo DiCaprio
For his role in 'The Revenant,' Leonardo DiCaprio pushed things to the next level. The actor not only camped out in the wilderness to prepare, but he also slept in an animal carcass, ate raw bison, and swam in frozen rivers on a daily basis. “I can name 30 or 40 sequences that were some of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do,” DiCaprio told Yahoo Movies. “Whether it’s going in and out of frozen rivers, or sleeping in animal carcasses, or what I ate on set. [I was] enduring freezing cold and possible hypothermia constantly.” Eventually, DiCaprio won an oscar for the film.
Ashton Kutcher
Actor Ashton Kutcher tried to follow Steve Jobs' fruitarian diet, which didn't go so well for preparing for the film 'Jobs'. The actor's wife Mila Kunis revealed that Ashton Kutcher was hospitalized for pancreatitis "twice" while preparing to play Steve Jobs in a 2013 biopic. According to a report by Insider, during an appearance on First We Feast's show 'Hot Ones,' Kunis confirmed to host Sean Evans that Kutcher had tried to follow Jobs' eccentric diet. She said, "He was so dumb. He only ate grapes at one point, it was so stupid," Kunis said. "We ended up in the hospital twice with pancreatitis." Jobs, the Apple co-founder who died of complications related to pancreatic cancer in 2013, was famously strict when it came to his diet.
Robert De Niro
To prepare for his iconic role in the film 'Taxi Driver,' legendary actor Robert De Niro allegedly completed twelve-hour cabbie shifts for a month. De Niro portrays a bitter Vietnam War veteran working as a cab driver in New York City in the film. In preparation for his role in Martin Scorsese's classic, Robert De Niro obtained an actual cab driver's licence. During the month leading up to filming, the actor worked 12 hours at a New York taxi company, picking up and dropping off people whenever he had free time.
Christian Bale
Christian Bale's depiction of a sleep-deprived manufacturing worker in the 2004 film 'The Machinist' is his most well-known transition. Bale is said to have lost 25 kg in four months in order to play Trevor in the film. Bale only ate "water, an apple, and one cup of coffee per day" to prepare for the role, according to Harrison Cheung's biography.
