For much of the year, countless stories were recounted about Jared Leto‘s method process when playing the Joker in “Suicide Squad,” which included messing with his co-stars by sending them outrageous and/or gross “gifts” from the character. But Leto is hardly the first actor to employ such immersive methods, as this week it emerged in the New York Post that Heath Ledger turned his entire apartment into a “shrine” to the Batman villain when he was preparing to play the character in “The Dark Knight.” And of course, Daniel Day-Lewis remains the pillar of the method process, reportedly inhabiting whatever role he’s playing, on screen and off, for the duration of a film’s shoot. However, Hollywood legend Warren Beatty has them all beat.
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In a new profile in The New York Times in advance of his big return with “Rules Don’t Apply,” the film’s star Alden Ehrenreich let slip an interesting fact about the production of the film.
“He also would direct in character,” the actor said. “He would give you notes as Howard Hughes.”
That must’ve been an….interesting experience, to say the least. And perhaps a Hollywood first? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone directing a movie in character, but correct me if I’m wrong.
“Rules Don’t Apply,” directed by Warren Beatty, who also stars as Howard Hughes, opens on November 23rd. [via Vulture]