Natalie Portman Says Method Acting Is A 'Luxury That Women Can’t Afford'

Natalie Portman has a hot take on method acting and discussed why she chose not to apply the style of acting to her role in May December.

In the film, Natalie portrays Elizabeth Berry, an actor who employs method acting — a technique where actors take on the psyche of their character by fully immersing themselves in the life and mind of the role they’re playing — to play a woman with a controversial past.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal published on Monday, the Oscar winner explained why she has never done method acting in her own carerr.

“I’ve gotten very into roles, but I think it’s honestly a luxury that women can’t afford,” she said.

“I don’t think that children or partners would be very understanding of, you know, me making everyone call me ‘Jackie Kennedy’ all the time,” she added, nodding to her 2016 movie, Jackie, in which she stars as the former first lady. 

Though Natalie isn’t a fan of method acting, it’s clear that she knows how to go to great lengths to embody herself in her on-screen roles.

She once shed 20 pounds, ate a miserable, restrictive diet and trained for hours each day to portray a ballerina in the critically acclaimed Black Swan. 

Natalie, who made her acting debut in Luc Besson’s 1994 action thriller, Léon: The Professional, isn’t the first female actor to loathe method acting.

In June 2021, Meryl Streep admitted she “was so depressed” while implementing the technique to play the icy fashion magazine editor, Miranda Priestly, in The Devil Wears Prada.

“It was horrible! I was [miserable] in my trailer. I could hear them all rocking and laughing,” Meryl told Entertainment Weekly.

“I was so depressed! I said, ‘Well, it’s the price you pay for being boss!’ That’s the last time I ever attempted a Method thing!”

Charlize Theron echoed a similar sentiment about the challenges of method acting while appearing on Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett’s Smartless podcast in November 2022. 

She recalled her life being “miserable” while using the technique for her role in 1997’s The Devil’s Advocate.

“I realised on that film that that was definitely not a process that was gonna work for me,” she said. “There was something so exhausting about it. My life was miserable. I wasn’t happy.”