She may have an Oscar for her iconic performance in Black Swan, but you won’t find Natalie Portman trying out method acting anytime soon.
As you might know, Natalie is currently promoting her new movie, May December, in which she stars alongside Julianne Moore and Charles Melton.
In the Netflix film, she plays a Hollywood actor who closely studies a woman named Gracie as she prepares to portray her in a movie about her marriage, which was the subject of a nationwide scandal.
Throughout the film, we see Natalie’s character, Elizabeth, become gradually more intertwined with Gracie’s life and marriage in her pursuit of perfection.
And while Elizabeth is certainly willing to implement some pretty extreme and unusual techniques to nail the part, it sounds like Natalie isn’t on the same page.
Speaking with WSJ. Magazine in an interview published this week, the Academy Award winner aired her thoughts on method acting, and why it’s something she hasn’t done.
“I’ve gotten very into roles, but I think it’s honestly a luxury that women can’t afford,” she said, suggesting that such a strict technique wouldn’t align with her responsibilities as a parent.
“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,” she added, referring to her Oscar nominated role in Jackie in 2016.
Of course, it’s no secret that method acting is one of the most divisive topics in Hollywood, and has been for many years.
On one side of the debate, you have stars like Jared Leto, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jeremy Strong, and Lady Gaga who find they get the best results by fully inhabiting their character, even when the cameras aren’t rolling.
And on the other hand, plenty of successful actors — including Samuel L. Jackson, Will Smith, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Brian Cox — have spoken out against the technique, and instead opt to switch off from the parts they’re playing when the director calls cut.
Memorably, Mads Mikkelsen gave an interview in 2022 when he described the strict process as “pretentious.”
“It’s bullshit,” he told GQ. “What if it’s a shit film — what do you think you achieved? Am I impressed that you didn’t drop character? You should have dropped it from the beginning! … The media goes, ‘Oh my god, he took it so seriously, therefore he must be fantastic; let’s give him an award.’”
Interestingly, Natalie isn’t the first woman in Hollywood to acknowledge the difficulties that can arise when you try to balance method acting with family life.
In 2020, Charlize Theron said in an interview that she learned early on in her career that taking her characters home wasn’t practical for her.
“I go to my trailer, I take my makeup off, and I go home. I don’t know how people stay in character. I’m too lazy,” the Oscar winner said. “I’ve got two kids to raise, and I have dog shit to pick up in the backyard. I don’t know how you do that in character.”
She continued: “It’s so fucking exhausting. I learned pretty early on, the more I let go, the better — which, in the beginning, was harder for me — but now I’m very disciplined about it.”
You can read Natalie’s full interview with WSJ. Magazine here.
