The Amazing Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield claimed method acting prepared him for his role as a Jesuit missionary in the 2016 historical drama film Silence.
In response to a recent string of criticisms levied at method acting by several high-profile figures in the film industry, Garfield defended the controversial technique, which he previously used during the production of Silence. "People are still acting in that way, and it’s not about being an asshole to everyone on set," Garfield explained in an interview on WTF with Marc Maron. "It's actually just about living truthfully under imagined circumstances, and being really nice to the crew simultaneously, and being a normal human being, and being able to drop it when you need to and staying in it when you want to stay in it."
The actor additionally described his time spent method acting as a religious experience. He claimed he conducted various spiritual practices throughout the weeks he spent in the role, such as remaining celibate for six months and oftentimes fasting to the point of losing weight. "It was very cool, man," Garfield said. "I had some pretty wild, trippy experiences from starving myself of sex and food at that time."
Based on Shusaku Endo's 1966 novel of the same name, Silence follows the story of two Portuguese missionaries, Father Sebastião Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Francisco Garupe (Adam Driver), who are both sent to Japan to investigate rumors claiming their teacher, Father Cristóvão Ferreira (Liam Neeson), renounced his faith under torture. The film received generally positive reviews at the time of its release, with critics praising the narrative's complex themes surrounding faith and the performance of its supporting cast of Japanese actors. Despite its positive impressions, Silence still performed poorly at the box office, raking in a meager $23.8 million from worldwide ticket sales in comparison to its estimated $46 million production budget.
Method Acting Is Controversial
While Garfield believed method acting is a viable technique, there are other actors who didn't share his opinion. Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore star Mads Mikkelsen called method acting "bulls--t" and "pretentious," with the Danish actor stating it was unreasonable to never drop character throughout the months spent in a film's production. Actor Will Poulter, who plays Adam Warlock in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, similarly slammed people who used method acting as an excuse for their actions in the industry and claimed they created an inhospitable working environment.
Silence is available for streaming on Prime Video, Paramount Plus and Vudu.
Source: WTF with Marc Maron