Natalie Portman reveals that she has never tried method acting: ‘Luxury women can’t afford’
Academy Award-winning actress Natalie Portman is revealing why she has never dabbled with method acting, claiming the technique is a "luxury women can’t afford."
The "Black Swan" and "Star Wars" star told The Wall Street Journal in a recent interview that although she takes her roles very seriously, she hasn’t had the liberty of method acting because normal life gets too in the way.
"I’ve gotten very into roles, but I think it’s honestly a luxury that women can’t afford. 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," Portman said, referencing her role in "Jackie," a 2016 film about the famous first lady.
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Method acting is a technique by which an actor aspires to fully identify with the character they’re portraying. Famous method actors, like Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix, or Jared Leto, get so into their roles that they are often found portraying them when not filming or rehearsing.
Though Portman – whose latest film "May December" is currently on Netflix – has really stretched for roles, like taking ballet and going on a serious diet to prepare for "Black Swan," she noted she has always kept herself separate from the characters she has played while performing.
Recently, actress Carey Mulligan explained that she dove into the technique for her portrayal in "Maestro," the recent Netflix film about American composer Leonard Bernstein, played by Bradly Cooper.
Mulligan, who plays Bernstein’s wife, Felicia Montealegre, claimed that Cooper really encouraged her to utilize the technique.
She told Variety, "There was a part of me as an actor that always felt like, ‘Well, I’m never going to be one of those actors that keeps their dialect in between takes,' There was a part of me that was slightly held back, or maybe nervous of completely committing to something. But that was what Bradley asked, basically, at the beginning of the process."
She continued, describing his request: "He was like, ‘If you’re going to do this, you just have to fully, fully do it.’ When he said that, I was like, ‘Okay, I’m going to absolutely do it all.’ I’m going to do all the research. I’m going to do all the dialect stuff. I’m going to do everything, so that when I get on set, I am 100% able to just feel like I’m onstage and have that sense of ‘I don’t remember what happened.'"
Her Maestro co-star has been known to method act as well, staying in character throughout various productions even with the camera off.
Not all industry A-listers value the technique. Some, like actor Mads Mikkelsen, have trashed it. In 2022, the Danish actor called method acting "pretentious."
He said, "It’s bull----. Preparation, you can take into insanity. What if it’s a s--- film — what do you think you achieved? Am I impressed that you didn’t drop character? You should have dropped it from the beginning! How do you prepare for a serial killer? You gonna spend two years checking it out?"