David Harbour Calls Method Acting ‘Dangerous And Silly’
David Harbour has slammed method acting, calling it 'dangerous' and 'silly'.
How actors prepare for roles vary massively from person to person. Daniel Day-Lewis, for example, likes to embody his character, even when he's not on set, so that he doesn't lose focus.
Famously, when he played Abraham Lincoln in the the 2012 movie Lincoln, for which he won an Oscar, the 65-year-old didn't break character for three months, and even made fellow cast and crew address him as 'Mr President'.
However, David Harbour has come out and said he doesn't agree with the practice, branding it not only silly but actually quite 'dangerous' too.
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The Stranger Things star said he was taught method acting when he was a student, but doesn't see any use in it.
Speaking to GQ, the 47-year-old 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 [method acting] stuff silly, it’s dangerous, and it actually doesn’t produce good work. [Daniel Day-Lewis] is an extraordinary actor who I’m captivated and fascinated by.
"[But] when he explains his process it sounds like nonsense to me."
Harbour isn't the only one to criticise the practice, though, as Samuel L. Jackson has also previously said he felt it could actually be quite harmful to an actor.
He told Collider: "It’s a job of playing make-believe. You do it effectively and you do it in a way that’s not harmful to you because it’s a safe space.
"You’re supposed to be able to safely come into this space, work and give emotionally, and not be harmed by it."
Ahead of filming for the latest series of Stranger Things, Harbour, who plays Jim Hopper, revealed that he lost a tremendous amount of weight to reflect the devastating toll of being locked in prison.
He told BBC Breakfast: "You know at the end of season three I was about 270 pounds, and then when we came into this season I was 190."
He added that it was a big challenge, and his top tip wasn't something that people trying to lose weight really want to hear.
Harbour went on: "It's not easy, it's a lot of not eating when you lose that much weight, and being hungry.
"That's the secret, if you're curious about the diet secret, it's just not eating food."
In a previous interview, he also explained that pilates and intermittent fasting also played a big part.
The new series of Stranger Things is available to watch on Netflix now.
Topics: Netflix, Stranger Things, US News, David Harbour
Dominic Smithers