Method acting is one way that actors and actresses get into character. This approach is considered one of the best in Hollywood; however, it takes a lot of off-screen preparation. It typically requires actors and actresses to transform themselves physically for roles. They will develop the same mannerisms and body language and some will even lose a considerable amount of weight to really get into the character. According to Lee Strasberg, “Method acting is what all actors have always done whenever they acted well.” That being said, let’s take a look at some of the most extreme method actors and actresses!
7. Michelle Williams
To play Marilyn Monroe in “My Week with Marilyn,” Michelle Williams immersed herself in research. She read books about her, read the books that the icon liked to read, engulfed herself in books on method acting and carried recordings of the actress’ voice on her iPod. She also watched a lot of her movies. “I started with The Prince and the Showgirl,” she told the National Post. “I started watching that movie while my daughter was in school, absorbing as much as I could, pausing it, trying to emulate what I had seen, made a lot of mistakes, completely clueless, and then, one day, things started to come together.”
Williams didn’t stop there. She also rigged herself up in costumes that Monroe would wear, which included a tight dress, a push-up bra and high heels and did her best to imitate her famous slinky walk. To do this, she tied her knees together.
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