- 5 months ago
When dedication meets disaster! Join us as we count down the actors who went to extreme lengths for roles that definitely weren't worth it. From acid trips to fruitarian diets, these performers sacrificed their sanity, health, and dignity for films that critics and audiences universally panned. Talk about suffering for your art!
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00:00You betray me, you're not good, you're just a chicken. Chip, chip, chip, chip, chip, chip.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the times that actors went method for a film that wasn't worth the trouble.
00:12As different people describe method differently, we'll be looking at actors staying in character between takes,
00:17doing excessive prep work, or using over-the-top methods to stay in character,
00:21rather than a strict definition of the Stanislavski method.
00:26Number 10. Idris Elba. Cats.
00:30Ha ha ha ha.
00:31Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.
00:34What?
00:36Macavity, Macavity. There's no one like Macavity.
00:41After Les Miserables took home three Oscars, including one for Best Supporting Actress,
00:46stars were eager to appear in Tom Hooper's next musical adaptation.
00:49While it may not have been clear to the studio or actors who signed on,
00:53virtually everyone else knew Cats would be a disaster.
00:55Okay, so it's Growl Tiger, you say? Yep, I think I've got it. I think that's it.
01:00I fully understand now who it is.
01:03One of Hooper's demands was that stars get into a feline mindset,
01:07which required them to learn from a cat expert how to move like a furry friend effectively.
01:11Meow.
01:12Meow.
01:13Oh, very good.
01:14Idris Elba, who played Macavity the mystery cat,
01:17explained to Stephen Colbert that he and the rest of the cast went through a kiddie boot camp.
01:22Cats like Macavity have magic powers, though.
01:24Ah-ha!
01:26Yes!
01:30The time has come to make the Jellicle choice.
01:36Oh, Deuteronomy, if you would.
01:41As I am the only contestant left.
01:45We'd rather watch Elba's cat camp footage than the film itself.
01:48I will get to the heavy side, Leia.
01:50I will win!
01:52You'll all see.
01:55Come with me!
01:57Meow!
01:58Number 9.
01:59Colin Farrell, Alexander.
02:02There's never been time, Mother.
02:05Since I was a child, I've been groomed to be ever the best.
02:09A passion project Oliver Stone had sought to make for years,
02:13the director was finally given the chance after Gladiator sparked a renewed interest in historical epics.
02:18Striving for an accurate portrayal of the legendary general, Alexander the Great,
02:21Stone had star Colin Farrell undergo extensive prep work for the role.
02:25You shame yourself.
02:27Shame?
02:28You insult me!
02:29I insult you!
02:31Am I not fit till it can ground my mother walks on?
02:34This allegedly included weapons training, horseback riding, and other skills the real Alexander possessed.
02:40Antimander, son of Menander, a great soldier to my father.
02:44I still mourn your brother, Adaios, who died so bravely at Halicarnassus.
02:50Farrell believed this was all worth it, even saying he was getting his tuxedo ready for awards season.
02:55However, when reviews dropped, it was clear the film was destined for Razzies, not Oscars.
03:00Then go, Antigonus, and Clytus, and go quickly.
03:05Despite the negative reception shaking Farrell, he would eventually secure a Best Actor nomination
03:09for The Banshees of Inner Sheeran, almost 20 years later.
03:13There was a bit of news I remembered, Mrs. O'Riordan.
03:16Dominic Kearney's father beat Dominic's senses with a kettle Saturday,
03:20and it's staying with Mimi's sister Dominic is, so at least his father take a bit of a break from his beating of him.
03:24Number 8. Daniel Day-Lewis.
03:279.
03:28The films are not modest.
03:30They cost too much, they take too long, and they involve too many people, so...
03:35They should have grand titles.
03:38Often considered one of the best method actors of all time,
03:40there's no denying Daniel Day-Lewis can get into character.
03:43To prove it, he allegedly spent his time on 9th set smoking cigarettes
03:47and speaking in Guido Contini's distinct dialect.
03:50But you have to wonder, what was the point?
03:53When you come in, I want you to be my little savage.
03:58Yes.
03:58Go, go.
04:00You think I'm one of your actresses.
04:01Carly, please, Carla.
04:07Madona.
04:09I'll pretend to be asleep.
04:11Aimless and overlong, the musical squanders Day-Lewis' performance
04:14by giving him nothing of note to work with across its plodding two-hour runtime.
04:19For what it's worth, Day-Lewis could make watching paint dry interesting,
04:22and this doldrum affair is no different.
04:25It's good to see you.
04:29I'm assuming that's code for there's no script.
04:34Why is everybody so suddenly obsessed with the script?
04:39We just wish he'd been used in a better movie than 9.
04:41That's all.
04:42I can't even tell how I'd begin.
04:46Help, Louisa.
04:47Help me.
04:47Help me, mama.
04:48Help me, someone.
04:49Number 7.
04:50Shia LaBeouf.
04:51Charlie Countryman.
04:52Mom, wait a second.
04:53I got...
04:54I have this horrible visual in my head of you.
04:58I need something nicer.
05:00Something fun.
05:02LaBeouf has embraced method acting in recent years,
05:04often using extreme measures
05:05and occasionally taking mind-altering substances to get into character.
05:09For Lawless, he frequently drank moonshine to get into the role,
05:13nearly frightening a co-star into quitting due to his behavior.
05:18He's gone.
05:19Ultimately, the film was a moderate critical success
05:29and saw a decent box office return.
05:31The same couldn't be said about Charlie Countryman,
05:34which came out the following year.
05:36For that film, the actor allegedly took acid
05:38and was tripping during filming for authenticity.
05:41Who's me doing?
05:42Opera house?
05:43You don't know.
05:44However, the only thing authentic about the movie
05:47was how bad it was.
05:48It was soundly rejected by critics
05:50and failed to make a mark at the box office
05:52or even be remembered in the years since its release.
05:55Number 6.
05:56Kevin Costner.
05:57Waterworld.
05:58When the time came to shoot the nautical epic Waterworld,
06:01Kevin Costner opted not to shoot in tanks on sound stages,
06:04but in the open ocean.
06:05Smokers?
06:06Maybe smokers, maybe slavers.
06:10So what's it worth?
06:12We trading or not?
06:14This, in part,
06:15caused the film to be the most expensive ever made at the time.
06:17Costner also insisted on performing a number of his own stunts underwater
06:21and on riggings of boats,
06:22one of which nearly killed him.
06:24Those he couldn't perform were done by pro surfer,
06:27Laird Hamilton,
06:27who briefly became lost at sea
06:29because he had to jet ski to work.
06:31Director Kevin Reynolds even quit after being fed up with Costner.
06:36Hi.
06:37Move.
06:38While the final film was largely mocked and considered a failure,
06:41it at least inspired one of the best stunt shows of all time.
06:44Number five, Tom Hardy, Capone.
07:02Every year about this time,
07:03we get together as a family
07:05and we shove it in Brooklyn's face.
07:09While sometimes frustrating to his co-stars,
07:11Tom Hardy's dedication to the craft and long process of finding his character
07:15has often netted great results,
07:17producing profound characters in incredible films.
07:20The occasion that he played an elderly, dementia-ridden Al Capone
07:23was not one of those times.
07:24The film centered on Capone's post-prison life
07:38and was largely ridiculed by critics
07:40who found no joy in watching Hardy wander around pooping his pants.
07:43Why you touch me, house?
07:45Why you gonna touch me?
07:48Hardy spent months crafting the famous gangster's mannerisms and voice,
07:51sending director Josh Trank countless voice notes.
07:54Since no recording of Capone exists,
08:09Hardy took some creative liberties with how he sounded,
08:11drawing inspiration from Bugs Bunny.
08:13It's certainly a choice.
08:15If I were king of the West,
08:21not queen, not duke, not prince.
08:26Number 4. Ashton Kutcher, Jobs.
08:29This is beyond understanding.
08:33Primarily known for his role as a lovable moron on That 70s Show,
08:37many were skeptical when Ashton Kutcher was cast
08:39as the complicated tech genius Steve Jobs.
08:42Welcome to Apple Computer.
08:46All right.
08:50Show me this revolutionary piece of s**t.
08:54The Apple II.
08:56It's the first ever all-in-one personal home computer.
09:00To better get into the mindset of the mogul,
09:02Kutcher adopted the same diet that the real Steve Jobs had
09:05when his health began to deteriorate.
09:07However, the strict fruitarian regime had very negative effects on Kutcher's health,
09:12even landing the actor in the hospital multiple times.
09:15Whatever you're working on,
09:17the rest of the day I want you to forget it.
09:20I want everyone to design something new.
09:23I don't care what it is, I don't care if it's technology,
09:26you just create something.
09:29It didn't seem to help his performance either,
09:30as the film was critically panned and a box office bomb.
09:33Kutcher took the brunt of the criticism,
09:35with even his wife, Mila Kunis,
09:37saying the method acting he embraced for the film was dumb.
09:40Here's to the crazy ones.
09:44The misfits.
09:46The rebels.
09:49The troublemakers.
09:50A major adopter of the method going back to the 1960s,
10:08Dustin Hoffman was reportedly once asked by Laurence Olivier,
10:11My dear boy, why don't you just try acting?
10:13I just can't walk out on him.
10:15He cries every ten minutes.
10:17Carol, he's like an orphan.
10:18This didn't deter Hoffman from his style,
10:21as he frequently won acclaim that he attributed to Strasburg's style,
10:25even winning two Academy Awards.
10:27However, it was clear that no matter how much method he applied to his role in Ishtar,
10:31there was no saving the film.
10:33Take one sip at a time.
10:34That water has to last you about another 48 minutes.
10:38Why?
10:39What happens in 48 minutes?
10:41We run out of water.
10:42No, seriously, I hear there's a...
10:44There's an oasis of about an hour and a half outside of
10:48Shelley Benemar.
10:49Come on.
10:49The production was a contentious, overblown disaster,
10:52with fighting among the cast,
10:54an ever-ballooning budget,
10:55and reports of inappropriate behavior by Hoffman.
10:58Screw the water, huh?
10:59We're not selling water.
11:01Start the bidding.
11:01Dead before it even released,
11:11the film tanked at the box office,
11:13and was even considered by some to be among the worst movies ever made.
11:16Hello, Morocco.
11:18You're equally pretty.
11:19You're never gonna get left behind.
11:22Number two, Tommy Wiseau, The Room.
11:25I did not hit her.
11:26I did not.
11:28Oh, hi, Mark.
11:29Perhaps the best bad movie ever,
11:31The Room is haphazardly written,
11:33bafflingly directed,
11:35and features an over-the-top central performance
11:37that is frankly disastrous in the best possible way.
11:40Lisa loves you, too,
11:41as a person,
11:42as a human being,
11:44as a friend.
11:45You know, people don't have to say it.
11:48They can feel it.
11:51What do you mean?
11:54You can love someone deep inside your heart,
11:57and there is nothing wrong with it.
11:59If a lot of people love each other,
12:01the world would be a better place to live.
12:03Of course, the person responsible for all of those elements
12:06is the film's auteur, Tommy Wiseau.
12:08Hi, Johnny. I didn't know it was you.
12:11Here you go.
12:12That's me.
12:14How much is it?
12:14It'll be $18.
12:15Here you go. Keep the change.
12:17Hi, doggie.
12:17You're my favorite customer.
12:18Thanks a lot. Bye.
12:20Who also independently produced the film.
12:22A student of acting,
12:23Wiseau idolized method actors James Dean and Marlon Brando
12:26attempting to emulate their style in his role as Johnny.
12:30However, while he mimics much of what those actors did on and off screen,
12:33he seemed to fundamentally misunderstand
12:35what made those performances so powerful.
12:37You are tearing me apart, Lisa!
12:39Before we continue,
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12:55Number 1.
12:57Jared Leto
12:58Morbius
12:59Jared Leto has become known for his intense method acting,
13:02refusing to break character and giving in-character gifts to his co-stars.
13:06Mayday, mayday, mayday.
13:07This is the LCV Myrna.
13:10Call letter 3X5Y.
13:13We are 13 nautical miles off the coast of Long Island.
13:16Request immediate airlift.
13:19Repeat.
13:19This is the LCV Myrna.
13:24Mayday, mayday.
13:25These reportedly included a live rat,
13:27adult-themed toys,
13:29and other,
13:29shall we say,
13:30unusual items,
13:32during his time as the Joker for Suicide Squad.
13:34Thankfully,
13:35Leto was only in a supporting role in that film.
13:37Careful.
13:39Do not say this oath
13:41thoughtlessly.
13:43Desire becomes surrender.
13:47Surrender becomes power.
13:49However,
13:50the same can't be said for Morbius.
13:52His dedication to playing the paraplegic man turned vampire
13:55meant he would use crutches on set,
13:57causing problems for the cast and crew,
13:59including delays as production would stop for 45 minutes
14:02when the actor needed a bathroom break.
14:04Ah.
14:07Not that kind of vampire.
14:09Just checking.
14:10The ire caused to the crew was ultimately worthless,
14:12as the film and Leto's performance were roundly mocked,
14:16memed by the internet for its terrible quality.
14:27Drag the reds.
14:29Good for you.
14:32Just you and me,
14:34Michael.
14:35Nothing.
14:36No one to hold us back.
14:38I'm all you have left.
14:40Which were your least favorite movies where an actor went method?
14:42Let us know in the comments below.
14:44How dare you talk to me like that?
14:47You should tell me everything.
14:49I can't talk right now.
14:50Good for you.
15:02Good for you.
15:08Good for now.
15:08Good for now.
15:09Bye.
15:09You
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