20 Actors Who Went Too Deep Into Method Acting

Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant (2015)

Leonardo DiCaprio endured grueling conditions to portray frontiersman Hugh Glass in The Revenant. He camped in the freezing wilderness, slept in animal carcasses, and even ate raw bison to capture his character’s suffering. DiCaprio described filming as one of the most difficult experiences of his career, with the cold and isolation pushing him to his limits.

Robert De Niro in The Taxi Driver (1976)

Robert De Niro is one of the most famous method actors in Hollywood history. For Taxi Driver, he reportedly worked long hours as a real cab driver to understand the mindset of Travis Bickle, losing 30 pounds for the part. Later, for Raging Bull (1980), he trained rigorously to play boxer Jake LaMotta, developing both the physicality and discipline of a professional fighter.

Andrew Garfield in Silence (2016)

Andrew Garfield openly supports method acting and practiced it for Silence, in which he played a 17th-century Jesuit priest. He abstained from sex, fasted to lose weight, and maintained spiritual rituals for six months. Garfield described the experience as deeply transformative and “spiritual,” saying that the deprivation led to “trippy experiences.”

Natalie Portman in Black Swan (2010)

For Black Swan, Natalie Portman trained intensely for months, practicing ballet for several hours daily while also swimming and cross-training. She restricted her diet, losing 20 pounds to embody the fragile dedication of a professional ballerina. Portman later described the experience as the most difficult of her career, saying it left her little room to “be herself.”

Jamie Foxx in Ray (2004)

For Ray, Jamie Foxx transformed himself into the legendary musician Ray Charles. He lost 30 pounds, followed a strict diet, and wore prosthetic eyelids that kept his eyes glued shut for up to 14 hours a day. Foxx admitted the experience caused panic attacks but said he adapted over time.

Adrien Brody in The Pianist (2002)

Adrien Brody transformed himself for The Pianist, portraying Polish-Jewish pianist and Holocaust survivor Władysław Szpilman. To prepare, he sold many of his possessions, withdrew from public life, practiced piano for hours daily, and lost 30 pounds to mirror Szpilman’s starvation. The emotional toll was so heavy that Brody struggled to return to normal life afterward.

Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

Meryl Streep experimented with method acting while playing Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada. She stayed in character throughout filming, maintaining the intimidating persona of the powerful editor even off-camera. However, she later confessed that it made her “miserable” and isolated from the rest of the cast, who often laughed and relaxed together while she remained detached.

Charlize Theron in The Devil's Advocate (1997)

Charlize Theron once tried method acting for The Devil’s Advocate after the director encouraged the cast to stay in character throughout filming. She later admitted the experience left her exhausted and emotionally drained. Though she respects the technique, Theron said it was “really hard to go to those deep, dark places” without rest.

Forest Whitaker in The Last King of Scotland (2006)

To portray Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland (2006), Forest Whitaker spent months preparing. He gained over 30 pounds, lived in Uganda, met Amin’s friends and family, and learned to speak Swahili. Once filming began, he stayed in character to preserve Amin’s distinctive voice and mannerisms.

Jim Carrey in Man on the Moon (1999)

Jim Carrey fully embraced the persona of comedian Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon. He stayed in character on and off set, insisting that everyone refer to him as Andy or Tony when portraying Kaufman’s alter ego, Tony Clifton.

Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight (2008)

Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight became iconic partly because of his intense preparation. He isolated himself for a month, kept a diary, and experimented with voices and mannerisms until he developed the Joker’s chilling personality. Co-star Christian Bale recalled that Ledger even asked to be hit for real during an interrogation scene to enhance authenticity.

Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot (1989)

Daniel Day-Lewis is legendary for his deep commitment to the method. For My Left Foot, he portrayed Christy Brown, a man with cerebral palsy who could only use his left foot. Day-Lewis spent time in a cerebral palsy clinic, stayed in a wheelchair throughout filming, and had crew members feed him to maintain realism.

Joaquin Phoenix in Joker (2019)

Joaquin Phoenix’s role in Joker demanded total transformation. He lost 52 pounds to embody Gotham’s troubled clown, describing how the weight loss affected his mental health and created obsessive habits. However, Phoenix found that the resulting vulnerability and physical fluidity added depth to his performance.

Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby (1999)

Hilary Swank has fully committed herself to physically and emotionally demanding roles. For Boys Don’t Cry, she portrayed a transgender man by bandaging her chest, deepening her voice, and losing weight to achieve authenticity. Later, in Million Dollar Baby (2004), she trained like a professional boxer, gaining 20 pounds of muscle for the role.

Austin Butler as Elvis Presley (2022)

Austin Butler went all in for his portrayal of Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis. He revealed that he didn’t see his family for three years during filming, often going months without speaking to anyone. Even when he did communicate, he stayed in character and spoke in Elvis’s voice.

Christian Bale in The Machinist (2004)

Christian Bale is famous for pushing his body and mind to extreme limits for his roles. For The Machinist, he lost nearly 70 pounds, reportedly sleeping only two hours a night to embody the insomniac Trevor Reznik. He later transformed again for films like The Fighter, American Hustle, and the Batman trilogy, adapting his physique as required.

Jared Leto in Suicide Squad (2022)

Jared Leto is notorious for his extreme commitment to method acting. While playing the Joker in Suicide Squad (2017), he sent bizarre gifts to co-stars, including a live rat for Margot Robbie. During Morbius, director Daniel Espinosa revealed that Leto stayed in character even between takes, using crutches or a wheelchair to move around, which slowed filming.

Jeremy Strong in The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

Jeremy Strong, best known for Succession, embraces an immersive acting style even though he doesn’t label himself a “method actor.” He once said that he must experience whatever ordeal the character goes through. For The Trial of the Chicago 7, he asked to be roughed up and sprayed with real tear gas, while in Armageddon Time, he shadowed a handyman to prepare for his role.

Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman (1992)

Al Pacino has long been known for fully immersing himself in every role he takes on. For his Oscar-winning performance in Scent of a Woman, Pacino portrayed a blind man, Lt. Col. Frank Slade, and prepared by seeking advice from people who were visually impaired. He also attended a school for the blind and began living as though he had lost his sight, asking others to treat him accordingly even off-camera.

Lady Gaga in House of Gucci (2021)

Lady Gaga embraced method acting for her role as Patrizia Reggiani in House of Gucci. She spent nine months speaking in an Italian accent; even off-camera and lived as her character for over a year. Gaga has admitted that this deep immersion caused “psychological difficulty” by the end of filming as she transitioned back to normal life.