00:00It is a truth often spouted that life imitates art, and while this can...
00:05be an incredible thing that can add many layers to an actor's role in a film, sometimes...
00:10the stark reality of a performance can be a little too much.
00:14With that in mind, I'm...
00:15I'm Will For What Culture, and here are 10 movie performances that got too real.
00:2010, Shia LaBeouf, Pieces of a Woman.
00:23On the night of Pieces of a Woman's release...
00:25Shia LaBeouf's former partner, musician FKA Twigs, sued him for sexual...
00:30battery, assault, and infliction of emotional distress.
00:33Netflix pivoted by removing...
00:35LaBeouf from their awards campaign for the film, and downplaying his role in the marketing.
00:39But ultimately...
00:40there's no escaping the unfortunate nature of the role itself.
00:43LaBeouf plays Sean...
00:45who together with his wife Martha, struggles to cope with the recent stillbirth of their
00:49child.
00:50New...
00:50numerous subsequent scenes see a frustrated, traumatized Sean lashing out at Martha.
00:55in a manner which proves infinitely more discomforting, given the recent allegations made against
01:00the actor.
01:01Though LaBeouf's performance is strong, many will simply be too preoccupied...
01:05with the proximity the role has to his personal life, to accept it as a mere piece of acting.
01:109.
01:11Brandon Lee.
01:12The Crow.
01:13The Crow was supposed to be Hollywood...
01:15his coming-out party for Bruce Lee's son Brandon.
01:17Yet, tragically, Lee ended up dying...
01:20in an on-set accident after a prop gun misfired.
01:23The director and crew scrambled to...
01:25to complete the film without their lead actor.
01:27Ultimately, employing a combination of body doubles...
01:30and visual effects to complete the few remaining days of shooting.
01:33Such an accident would cast a...
01:35devastating cloud over any film.
01:37But it's especially tough in The Crow, given that Lee's protagonist...
01:40rock star Eric Draven...
01:42is murdered by gunshots early on.
01:44Knowing this...
01:45doesn't actually detract from the film in any way...
01:47though it certainly lends it a heartbreaking point...
01:50experience it otherwise wouldn't have.
01:528.
01:53Kirsten Dunst.
01:54Melancholia.
01:55I...
01:55arguably one of the most under-appreciated performances of the last decade...
01:58Kirsten Dunst is nothing short of...
02:00phenomenal in the 2011 drama Melancholia.
02:03Dunst plays Justine...
02:05an unhappy newlywed struggling to make sense of her life...
02:07on the eve of an apocalyptic event...
02:09which will...
02:10see a rogue planet collide with the Earth...
02:12ending all of human existence...
02:15Tom Trier conceived the film during a depressive episode...
02:17and is part of his famed...
02:19depression...
02:20trilogy.
02:21But the subject matter also proved proximate to Kirsten's own life.
02:24In 2008...
02:25the actress was treated for depression...
02:27and has spoken of bonding with Von Trier...
02:29over their respective...
02:30mental health battles.
02:31She said...
02:32we met before I did the movie...
02:34and talked about how the...
02:35light goes out of your eyes...
02:36people don't talk about depression...
02:38so for me it was really amazing...
02:40to see this was going to be portrayed.
02:427.
02:43Liam Neeson...
02:44The Grey...
02:45Joe Carnahan's thriller The Grey...
02:46arrived in the middle of a curious turning point...
02:48for Neeson's career...
02:49as he...
02:50he threw himself into a load of action revenge thrillers...
02:53following the success of Taken.
02:55Neeson...
02:55has spoken extensively about doing so...
02:57in order to distract himself in the wake of his wife...
02:59Natasha...
03:00Richardson's 2009 death...
03:02which makes The Grey...
03:03an especially heart-rending...
03:05entry into his filmography.
03:07In the film...
03:08Neeson's protagonist...
03:09John Otway...
03:10suffers through...
03:10the death of his wife...
03:11Anna...
03:12and as a result...
03:13plans to commit suicide...
03:14though thankfully decides...
03:15to fight for his life...
03:16at the film's end.
03:17It's impossible...
03:18not to view the film...
03:19within...
03:20in the context of Neeson's own grief...
03:22and consider whether shooting it...
03:23was a cathartic experience...
03:25for the actor.
03:266.
03:27Dustin Hoffman...
03:28and Meryl Streep...
03:29Kramer vs. Kramer...
03:30Dustin Hoffman...
03:31and Meryl Streep star...
03:32as a former married couple...
03:33caught in the midst...
03:34of a bitter custody...
03:35battle for their son...
03:36Billy...
03:37in Kramer vs. Kramer.
03:38The film is a fiery...
03:39acting...
03:40masterclass...
03:41and one suffused...
03:42with even more emotional...
03:43authenticity...
03:44than is immediately apparent.
03:45For starters...
03:46both Hoffman and Streep...
03:47were working through...
03:48personal tragedies...
03:49at the time of shooting...
03:50that Hoffman was in the midst...
03:51of a divorce...
03:52from his first wife...
03:53while Streep was mourning...
03:54the death of her partner.
03:55but it goes deeper...
03:56than the mere anguish...
03:57they bring to the parts.
03:58The two actors clashed...
04:00offensively...
04:01throughout the shoot...
04:02largely due to...
04:03Hoffman's commitment...
04:04to method acting...
04:05and various...
04:05attempts to antagonize...
04:06a quote...
04:07better performance...
04:08out of Streep.
04:09It doubtless...
04:10all adds up to...
04:10to make the final film...
04:11feel incredibly raw...
04:12even if that's a lot...
04:13of emotional baggage...
04:14for two hours...
04:15characters...
04:16to carry around...
04:17with them...
04:18during a film shoot.
04:195.
04:20Nick Nolte...
04:21Warrior.
04:20Nick Nolte...
04:21received a well-earned...
04:22Best Supporting Actor...
04:23Oscar nomination...
04:24for his heart-wrenching...
04:25performance in Warrior...
04:26playing Paddy Conlon...
04:27the recovering...
04:28alcoholic father...
04:29of protagonists...
04:30Tommy and Brendan.
04:31Nolte's depiction...
04:32of a man...
04:33whose life is defined...
04:34by his battle...
04:35with the...
04:35bottle...
04:36has undeniable...
04:37allusions...
04:38to the actor's...
04:39own...
04:40lifelong...
04:41substance abuse issue...
04:40Nolte said...
04:41of his performance...
04:42because I have...
04:43a drunk driving record...
04:44and I have not...
04:45been silent...
04:46about my own...
04:47addictions...
04:48it was a perfect...
04:49vehicle...
04:50I understand...
04:50how destructive...
04:52they are...
04:53and how difficult...
04:54they are to break...
04:55for...
04:56Elsie Fisher...
04:57Eighth Grade...
04:58In a just world...
04:59Eighth Grade...
05:00would've been nominated...
05:00for a pile of Oscars...
05:01especially...
05:02for 14 year old...
05:03lead Elsie Fisher...
05:04who proves so...
05:05jaw-droppingly...
05:06convincing...
05:07as high school...
05:08protagonist...
05:09Kayla...
05:10Elsie's performance...
05:10thoroughly...
05:11authentic...
05:12perfectly conveying...
05:13the anxieties...
05:14of those awkward...
05:15adolescent years...
05:16precisely...
05:15because she...
05:16literally...
05:17experienced them...
05:18while making the film...
05:19though...
05:20Eighth Grade...
05:20in heart and humor...
05:21it's more awkward...
05:22passages...
05:23are what makes it...
05:24feel so relatable...
05:25the discomfort...
05:26in her own skin...
05:27being both...
05:28crushingly recognizable...
05:29and unmistakably...
05:30drawn from her...
05:30her own experiences...
05:31she may not...
05:32have captured...
05:33the Academy's attention...
05:34but at least...
05:35she did receive...
05:36a gold...
05:35Golden Globe...
05:36nomination...
05:37for Best Actress...
05:38Three...
05:39John Wayne...
05:40The Shootist...
05:40John Wayne...
05:41plays...
05:42aged...
05:43gunfighter...
05:44JB Brooks...
05:45who...
05:45also...
05:46being a quaint...
05:47relic...
05:48in a world...
05:49moving on...
05:50without him...
05:51also...
05:52has his days...
05:53numbered...
05:54by a...
05:55term...
05:56a...
05:57a...
05:58a...
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06:43a...
06:19the wrestler. As a self-contained performance, Mickey Rourke's naked vulnerability in the
06:24wrestler proves tremendously affecting, though his turn as a broken-down, washed-up wrestler
06:29has an undeniably self-reflexive quality to it. The wrestler is a not-so-subtle
06:34meta commentary on Rourke's own acting career, for after establishing himself as a household
06:39named throughout the 80s, Rourke developed a reputation for being difficult and even quit
06:43acting for several years.
06:44To become a boxer, when Randy launches into his, I'm an old, broken-down piece
06:49of meat speech, the scene which basically got him the Oscar nomination, it's tough to view
06:53it through any-
06:54anything but an entirely self-regarding lens. Painful, but brilliant.
06:59Number one, Gloria Swanson, Sunset Boulevard. It's safe to say that many people watch-
07:04watching Sunset Boulevard today won't appreciate the full, devastating context of Billy Wild-
07:09Wilder's ingenious 1950 film noir. Gloria Swanson stars as Norma Desmond-
07:14a mostly forgotten former silent film star whose depleted fame has brought her-
07:19to the brink of suicide. Like Desmond, Swanson was a celebrated silent film-
07:24actress who struggled to transition into talkies and eventually fell into obscurity.
07:28The-
07:29The delicious irony of Sunset Boulevard is that this was Swanson's first movie-
07:34role in around 20 years. And like her character in the film, she was mounting an attempt at a-
07:39Hollywood comeback. Thankfully, in her case, it worked as she netted herself a third best-
07:44actress Oscar nomination. And unlike the characters she played, she didn't end up losing her mind-
07:49or murdering someone. In this case, too real was basically the point. And it worked-
07:54looked out splendidly.
07:59A picture in the waffling of the-
08:026.
08:03In this case, she needs to be taken out of her triumph as a mission-
08:05and theIKKA. And she's also going to add herself to the part that she has to feel in the
08:06a making.
08:08So, how do you think?
08:09Mm-hmm.
08:10In this case, she's going to be able to defeat her.
08:12So, a-
08:14Yes.
08:15Um.
08:16Who, what's the next-
08:18A-
08:19Being in this case.
08:21In this case, she tried to do something new-
08:24to and help say,
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