Darren Aronofsky is sharing a cut and dry take on the Method acting debate: He simply “hates” the practice.
“I hate Method actors,” the auteur said during a French Cinematheque masterclass in Paris, from Variety. “[By all means], do a tremendous amount of research and really work hard, but acting’s make believe. 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.”
He added that the particular acting technique is “just something to hide behind, as opposed to doing the work and being professional.” However, the director did clarify that an all-immersive approach could be “fine, as long as it’s not debilitating for the rest of the crew.”
“It’s fine if that’s how [these actors] want to spend their time,” Aronofsky said. “But I just encourage them to relax a bit!”
Aronofsky has collaborated with stars such as Natalie Portman, Jennifer Lawrence (who similarly said she was “scared” of working with Method actors), and Brendan Fraser. His next film, “Caught Stealing,” is led by famously Method actor Austin Butler, who rose to superstardom for fully transforming into Elvis Presley — including changing his speaking voice for years — for the eponymous Baz Luhrmann-helmed biopic.
Aronofsky deemed Butler to be his “anchor” on crime thriller “Caught Stealing,” which was adapted from Charlie Huston’s book about a former baseball player who gets caught up in a world of underground crime in 1990s New York City. “We sort of built a world around him,” Aronofsky said of working with Butler. He also compared the film to his other beloved feature “Black Swan.”
“It’s just a crime caper that we tried to make really well – and that was a really fun activity,” Aronofsky said, citing how “Caught Stealing” was a “beautiful exercise” in genre filmmaking. “There’s nothing wrong with taking a classic genre and just trying to make it better, and to do things with real craft.”
Aronofsky is rumored to be later adapting Stephen King’s “Cujo” for Netflix.
