Why Natalie Portman Views Method Acting as An Unaffordable Luxury for Women

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Oscar winner Natalie Portman thinks “women can’t afford” to embrace method acting.

During a January 8 interview with the Wall Street Journal, 42-year-old Portman shared her thoughts on women using method acting, an immersion into a character even when not filming. "I've delved into roles, but I believe it's a luxury that women can't afford," she told the publication. She referenced her role as Jacqueline Kennedy in the 2016 film Jackie to emphasize her point, saying, "I don't think my children or partner would appreciate me insisting on being called 'Jackie Kennedy' all the time."

Before portraying Nina in Black Swan, Natalie Portman dedicated intense preparation to her role, committing five hours a day to ballet, swimming, and cross training. Despite her dedication, Portman claims to have never used method acting. However, her character in the 2023 film May December, Elizabeth Berry, takes a different approach. In the Todd Haynes-directed film, Elizabeth immerses herself in the lives of Gracie Atherton-Yoo and her husband Joe, going to extreme and shocking lengths to understand her character, a clear attempt at method acting.

The origin of method acting can be traced back to Russian theater practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski in the 1900s, and it was subsequently developed by American director, actor, and acting teacher Lee Strasberg. Strasberg, often referred to as the "father" of method acting in America, advocated for his students to deeply explore the lives of the characters they portrayed, not only during the performance but throughout the entire lifespan of the character.

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Over a hundred years later, method acting is still embraced by some actors, but as Portman points out, the vast majority are men. In a profile in the December 2023 issue of The New Yorker, Jeremy Strong was the most recent method actor to garner attention for fully embodying his Succession character, Kendall Roy. Strong stated in the profile that he approached playing Kendall with the same level of seriousness as his own life, saying, "To me, the stakes are life and death." However, he is just one of many actors who fully commit to method acting, including Robert DeNiro, Christian Bale, Al Pacino, and Lady Gaga.

During the filming of 2016's Suicide Squad, Jared Leto fully embraced his role as the Joker, even going as far as asking to be called "Mister J" and sending Margot Robbie a live rat. At the 2024 Golden Globes, Leto humorously acknowledged his method acting by joking that he had been in "presenter mode" for weeks.