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21 actors who took their roles so seriously it got out of hand

Sometimes Method acting goes too far

Jacob Stolworthy
Wednesday 16 October 2019 06:08 EDT
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Heath Ledger as the Joker performs grisly pencil trick in The Dark Knight

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For some actors, dedication to their craft knows no bounds.

There has been a long history of performers who have got so stuck into their roles that they’ve taken things too far, whether they’ve injured themselves or frightened their co-stars on set.

While method acting is considered a technique adopted by the greatest actors, there have been many examples of such instances where reining it in could have been beneficial.

It won't be much of a surprise to see certain names here – Daniel Day-Lewis and Joaquin Phoenix are indeed included – but others (Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher, for example) may make you look twice

Below is a compilation of 21 actors who took certain roles so seriously things got out of hand.

Joker is in cinemas now.

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