David Harbour is the latest actor to speak out against method acting and its rising popularity among Hollywood A-listers. There has been a lot of talk about the controversial yet often effective acting process lately – simply known as The Method – due to rising awareness in the industry and numerous reports of actors’ inappropriate on-set behavior making the news. Method acting involves living or behaving like the written characters, even off-screen, to better understand their mindset and deliver a standout performance, but the actors often end up harming themselves or causing production troubles.
Stranger Things star David Harbour is acquainted with the acting style, as he revealed to GQ Magazine in an interview recently. "I’m very much trained in classical American method acting," Harbour said, before adding that he doesn’t think it actually works and can also be dangerous.
"When I was younger — it’s so embarrassing — but I remember playing that famous Scottish King. And being like, ‘I’m gonna kill a cat’ or something: ‘I’m gonna go murder something to know what it feels like to murder.’ I didn’t actually do it, obviously. Not only is that [method acting] stuff silly, it’s dangerous, and it actually doesn’t produce good work."
However, when asked about his opinion of Daniel Day-Lewis, one of the greatest actors of all time and a known method actor, Harbour, like everyone else, praised the There Will Be Blood star but denounced his over-committing style of acting.
"He’s an extraordinary actor who I’m captivated and fascinated by. [But] when he explains his process it sounds like nonsense to me."
Daniel Day-Lewis is known for never delivering a bad performance, and he credits his grueling preparation for it. From being spoonfed and moved around in a wheelchair while playing a character with cerebral palsy in 1989’s My Left Foot to hunting for food while filming The Last of the Mohicans, Day-Lewis is known for taking extreme measures to get into character. He even refused to wear a proper coat on the set of Gangs of New York, arguing that his character couldn’t afford the luxury and ended up catching pneumonia.
While we can’t say The Method hasn’t worked for Day-Lewis or Marlon Brando, he also isn’t as vocal about it as some other actors and isn’t difficult to work with. There’s dedication to one’s craft, and then there’s being an insufferable jerk, which is the case with most method actors. Some, like Jared Leto, have taken it too far by reportedly sending used bullets, condoms, and dead animals to co-stars.
David Harbour Has Received Critical Acclaim For Playing Jim Hopper in Stranger Things
David Harbour is currently enjoying the love of fans after his emotional return as former Sheriff Jim Hopper in Stranger Things season 4. Presumed to be dead after the season 3 finale, Hopper finally reunited with his adopted daughter Eleven/Jane (Milly Bobby Brown) and the rest of the Hawkins family.
Although Hopper spent most of the season trying to escape from his Russian prison, the fifth and final season of the popular Netflix series will feature the whole cast together, again trying to save the world. Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer will begin writing Season 5 next month. Hopefully, there will be a shorter gap this time around. Stranger Things season 4 is taking the world by storm right now. Be sure to check it out exclusively on Netflix.
As for David Harbour, he will next appear in the Christmas action-comedy Violent Night, premiering on December 2, 2022.