Natalie Portman just shared her very practical reason for moving away from method acting.
Portman won an Academy Award for her portrayal of a dancer who commits herself to surprising extremes in “Black Swan.” In the acclaimed “May December,” Portman plays Elizabeth Berry, an actress who pursues a film role in extreme and ethically questionable ways.
While no stranger to playing dangerously overcommitted characters, Portman herself stops short of Method Acting, a technique in which an actor fully inhabits a character, often both on and off camera, for the duration of a project.
“I’ve gotten really into roles, but I think it’s honestly a luxury that women can’t afford,” Portman told the Wall Street Journal of Method’s performance. “I don’t think kid犀利士
s or partners will be very understanding of the fact that I make everyone call me ‘Jackie Kennedy’ all the time.”
Discussing Todd Haynes’ “May December” with The Times this month, Portman viewed her process as “looking into someone’s heart, but you’re also using their emotions and their history as raw material.”
Recently, there has been an uptick in discourse around the ethical qualms that can arise when portraying a real person, especially someone involved in a salacious public scandal or a traumatic true crime story. Vili Fualaau, a former student and ex-husband of the late Mary Kay Letourneau, said he was offended by “May December,” which is inspired by a reality he has lived since he was 13 years old. Amanda Knox, whose initial murder conviction and eventual acquittal was portrayed in “Stillwater,” also spoke out against ethics in using her and Fualaau’s stories as source material for entertainment.
“I think every artist has the question of, ‘What is that, ethically, taking someone’s feelings and turning them into entertainment?’” Portman told The Times. “Obviously, I don’t think most actors’ processes cross the lines that Elizabeth’s cross. But it is very close to questions of journalism and documentary: when does representing someone change the course of their life? Which is very ingrained in the story of this film.”
She told the Wall Street Journal that she starts each day by getting up at 7 a.m.: “I wake the kids up and get them ready for school, which isn’t very exciting, I make them breakfast, I take them to school and I walk back in.” to the dogs. ”
Portman’s point about Method acting being a luxury women can’t afford is borne out, when you imagine her slipping into someone as intriguing as her “May December” character while attending a parent-teacher conference or hosting play dates for your kids after school.
