To what extent does Jared Leto's use of method acting allow a more authentic performance?

Projector - "What is method?"

Speaker - What is Method? Method was originally defined by Lee Strasberg as "Method acting is what all actors have done whenever they acted well". This has developed further as a form of acting where an actor becomes the character and tries to somehow live in the characters life to evolve a beautiful and personal performance of the character. (Item 8)

 

Method is an acting style formally developed by Lee Strasberg (Item 9) and Constantin Stanislavski (Item 12) these men created a base line for the method style and gave different interpretations of it. Their opinions have helped teach actors how use the technique today. Before these men the method acting style can be originally traced all the way back to the Ancient Greeks, through the Italian Renaissance and more recently the psychological approaches in the 20th century, here it was given the term 'method'. (Item 10)

 

However Strasberg and Stanislavski's teachings (Item 13) are not the only way people can learn about method acting, whether it be trough social media or through a 'how to' book (Item 11). It has become widely more used and acknowledged due to media, which forces me to ask the question, is it used to create an authentic character portrayal?.

Projector - Photo of Lee Strasberg and Constantine Stanislavski (Item 22 & 23)

 

Speaker - Leto is now a very well-known actor for his appearances in many award winning and cult favourite films such as Suicide Squad (Item 1) and Dallas Buyers Club (Item 2)

 

Projector - Photo of Jared's most famous roles (Item 19)

Speaker - Leto has now become renowned for his performance of The Joker in 2016's Suicide Squad (Item 1), he has gained a vast attention for the different acting techniques he used in the pursuit of an authentic character portrayal, however there is controversy over whether these where indeed methods of creating a unique interpretation of the character or just a marketing technique for himself and the film. Many would argue that Leto’s stories of his time on set in fact encourages the idea that the great lengths he goes to, to inhibit a character are as much marketing tool as a technique (Item 5)

This is also an instance where Leto has been referred to as going 'full method'. This is where for his roles as takes on very drastic and extreme techniques to try and take on the persona of each character  He's been well know recently for extravagant 'presents' he has given to his cast members on the recent film of Suicide Squad (Item 1). These include used condoms, bullets, anal beads and dead animals. These very extreme way of trying to 'become' a character. These 'gifts' have been debated about as they can either be seen as an extreme marketing technique that don't really add to his performance or a way of experimenting with the different traits of the joker, the giving of these gifts would play with the jokers twisted humour, his element of surprise and his mischievous personality.

This is evidence that Leto sticks to the more modern interpretation of what method acting is. This is where the actor tries to live the life of the character and almost become them for a short period of time while filming. This differs from Strasberg’s original definition (Item 8)

At this point it can be debated that the new techniques do in fact create a good performance, In Chapter 27 (Item 2) Leto was praised for his performance and he won an Oscar for his performance in Dallas buyers’ club (Item 3) both of which he used techniques from the modern interpretation of the method style. However for his recent film his performance as the world renowned DC villain has been extremely controversial with equally mixed reviews. (Item 5)

 

Projector - Clip of the Joker's Scenes - (0.56 sec) (Item 18)

 

Speaker - Leto has shown that he takes his roles to the next level, and truly commits to creating an informed and accurate representation of characters. (Item 14) While filming chapter 27 (Item 2) Leto gained 62 pounds to embody the physic of Mark Chapmen. (Item 7)

 

Projector - Image showing the weight change Jared when through when playing Mark Chapmen in Chapter 27. (Item 20)

 

Speaker - He did this by binge eating classical fast foods such as pizza and pasta as well as drinking melted pints of Haagen-das ice cream, olive oil and soy sauce (Item 7). This is something I'm sure nobody would find particularly pleasurable, even though we all dream of eating pizza 24/7. This heavy weight gain came with the great cost of being in a wheelchair and dealing with extreme pain, not only this but Jared suffered health risks such as gout and very high blood pressure (Item7).

 

This shows his willingness to put his body through extremes to create a realistic character. His role in this otherwise forgettable film was praised for being accurate and well thought out (Item 7), this shows that his method style has given him the opportunity to give very well performed and well-constructed performance (Item 16) Even when the film flops Jared’s performance manages to shine. I feel this was represented in the scene where Chapman gets Lennon's autograph, he appears as a predator swell as coming of as an insecure obsessive fan, this scene represents the different elements of Mark Chapman's personality that Leto wanted to exaggerate and bring to life on scene which I believe he did beautifully.

 

Not only has Jared gained an extreme amount of weight he has also lost it.

 

Projector - Comparison photo of Jared and Rayon (Item 21)

Speaker - In 2013 Leto took on the role of a Transgender prostitute who suffers with a drug addiction named Rayon in the film Dallas Buyers Club (Item 3). Because this character suffers with both a drug addiction and aids Leto decided to lose a lot of weight and shave all of his body hair to create the illusion of this character. Although Jared's dedication to the character and a well throughout performance landed him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, others would disagree and say that his method style was used to "steal a job from a real trans woman in order to play one" (Item 4)

 

I guess we can't just talk about why we think Jared is using the method style for all the wrong reasons, we have to look at the other argument that he is using the method style to create innovative and beautiful performances. Matthew McConaughey talked about his experience working with Jared on Dallas Buyers Club saying "He tried to steal things from me, literally my pocketknife, et cetera" (Item 6) McConaughey shows here that Leto committed to his character and tried to incorporate their attributes into his own life to really give a true performance.

 

As well as this an interview with Charles Roven he tells us about Jared's Oscar winning role in Dallas Buyers Club as well how Jared acted on the set of Suicide Squad (Item 1) and how he used method acting to fully embody and understand that character and his characteristics. He also talked about how Jared was on set and how he acted around the other cast members to remain in character as the Joker. (Item 15)

 

This character portrayal is another example of Leto sticking to a more modern interpretation of what method acting is as he actively tried to live the life of his character Rayon by drastically changing his body appearance. As well as this Jared never left his role he remained in character throughout filming and maintained a very strict grooming schedule much like rayon actually would (Item 7)

 

However an issue i have picked with how Leto went 'full method' for this role is that he seemed to only be interested in the way she looks from the information I have gathered leo didn't exempt to understand further the struggles of a person suffering with Aid's and the didn't attempt to discover what life as a true transgender woman would be like living in this society. If he was truly involved interrupting an informed and personal interpretation of this character he should have gone further than just researching her looks as she is a very in-depth and complicated character to play. Although in the scene where Rayon tells her father she has Aid's is something extremely though provoking and real, watching this scene i truly believe that i was witnessing a story that would truly happen and the emotion within the scene created an incredibly emotive atmosphere. (Item 3)

 

In conclusion I am led to believe that Leto is a modern method actor and sticks to the idea that method acting is where an actor attempts to become the character and somehow live in their life, this differs from the original definition created by Strasberg that it is simply doing their job well (Item 8) and I believe there is enough sufficient evidence to say the Leto has done his job very well and gave his best portrayals of each character. E.g. he's won an Oscar for his performance in Dallas buyers’ club (Item 3) been praised for his work as Mark Chapman in Chapter 27 (Item 2) and has had good reviews of his most recent film Suicide Squad (Item 1).

 

Projector - Question Jared Photo (Item 23)

 

However I must say that I think he could have gone to more extra length to research further into these characters as his method technique appears to focus more on their appearance and what will get him noticed than actually trying to take on the struggles each character lives with. (Item 7 & Item 4)