Everyone in the acting industry knows how important it is to leave an impression on an audience with each performance. To fully realize their characters, some actors choose to use method acting. Actors using this method must completely inhabit their roles, erasing any distinction between themselves and their characters.
Although method acting has the potential to produce impressive results, it has also been linked to increased stress and conflict on set. Marvel star Vincent D’Onofrio’s extreme method acting in a $120 million film project left his co-star shaken and on the verge of losing his sanity.
Vincent D’Onofrio’s Method Acting Takes a Dark Turn
Vincent D’Onofrio went to extraordinary lengths to embody his character in the upcoming film. D’Onofrio, best known for his role as Wilson Fisk in the MCU, went to great lengths to get into character. He trained himself intensely to take on the character’s physicality, speech patterns, and mentality.
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Matthew Modine, who had previously worked with Vincent D’Onofrio on the Full Metal Jacket set many years ago, found himself again facing the difficulties of working with the dedicated method actor. As filming continued, the chasm between the two actors widened due to the obvious differences in their acting and creative styles.
Stella Adler’s student Matthew Modine was committed to acting from the heart and letting his characters guide his work. Vincent D’Onofrio, on the other hand, acted by the principles of Lee Strasberg’s method of acting school, putting himself in his character’s shoes. These divergent strategies and their divergent personalities made for an explosive mix.
As filming progressed, D’Onofrio’s dedication to method acting deepened. Matthew Modine found his explorations into his character’s troubled mind fascinating and unsettling. The gradual blurring of the lines between the script and reality exacerbated Modine’s inability to form a genuine rapport with his co-star.
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Matthew Modine and Vincent D’Onofrio Make Peace
D’Onofrio’s perception of Matthew Modine’s lighter approach between takes as a lack of dedication grew as tensions rose. Their tension was already high, and this misunderstanding only worsened things. When Modine’s behavior reached its breaking point, D’Onofrio threatened physical violence. Their once-warm friendship had deteriorated into a source of noticeable tension on set.
In a pivotal scene, Matthew Modine is repeatedly called upon to strike D’Onofrio’s character with a knotted towel. Modine revealed that, in a fit of rage, he had struck his co-star more than was called for in the script, revealing his growing animosity toward him. D’Onofrio did not seriously hurt by Modine, but the extra blows left him battered and bruised.
“I really wanted to [kill him]. In all those boot-camp scenes where I’m teaching him how to do up his top button, make his bed, lace his shoelaces… He just got weirder and weirder as he went into the world his character was entering into.”
After filming, the strained relationship between Matthew Modine and Vincent D’Onofrio was repaired. Modine realized in retrospect that the tension between them off-screen contributed to the authenticity of their on-screen chemistry. However, the damage done to their psyche was obvious.
Although Vincent D’Onofrio’s extreme method acting may have driven his co-star to the edge of insanity, it serves as a sobering reminder of the dangers of such an approach. Actors and directors must find a middle ground between being realistic and protecting their actors’ health as the industry develops. After all, one’s sanity should never be compromised for a stellar performance.
Source: The Independent
