While filming Django Unchained, Leonardo Dicaprio was so immersed in the role of Calvin Candie,when he cut his hand (which later required stitches) during a take, he stayed fully in character and even improvised with the blood on his hand, rubbing it on Kerry Washington's face. This take made it into the final cut of the film, therefore the reactions from the actors are genuine and their concern for him was real and genuine, which I will apply to my argument. He probably wouldn't have been able to do this if he didn't method act to become so much into his character, which makes Django Unchained a good source to prove point that DiCaprio is a method actor.
2. The Wolf of Wall Street (2014, Directed by Martin Scoresse)
Dicaprio also used a lot of method acting techniques so he could become Jordan Belfort in Martin Scoresse's film 'The Wolf Of Wall Street'. I have chosen this film because when preparing for the quaalude scenes in 'The Wolf Of Wall Street', DiCaprio talked to Jordan Belfort (the character he is playing in the film) and doctors about how the brain acts under this drug and how people act when they are under it, as he would have to act it out in the film. He also performed the stunts himself, instead of having a stunt double which was advised, because he wanted to make his performance genuine and accurate which wouldn't have been achieved with a stunt double.
3. The Aviator (2004, Directed by Martin Scoresse)
The Aviator is another film where DiCaprio used method acting techniques to get into the character of Howard Hughes. To help make DiCaprio's version of Howard Hughes in 'The Aviator' more accurate and realistic, he listened to lots of audio recordings of Hughes so he could master Hughes' 'curious voice patterns'. This something which most actors wouldn't do, as they would see it as unnecessary, but for DiCaprio did it to get into the mind of Howard Hughes more and to make his performance accurate to the real person. Leonardo said he watched 'classic' films to help him prepare for 'The Aviator'. DiCaprio stated that he was 'blown away by the vulnerability of James Dean in “East of Eden” and “stunned” by the power of Montgomery Clift' and that performance helped him when preparing for 'The Aviator'.
4. Business Insider's article on actor's who refuse to break character
http://www.businessinsider.com/actors-who-refuse-to-break-character-2013-2?op=1&IR=T
This article explains an incident on the set of Django Unchained where Leonardo DiCaprio, playing Calvin Candie, cut his hand (which later required stitches) during a take, however he stayed fully in character and even improvised with the blood on his hand, rubbing it on Kerry Washington's face. This take made it into the final cut of the film, therefore the reactions from the actors are genuine and their concern for him was real and genuine. This source is useful because it tells us how Dicapio is a method actor and always stays in character and this is information I previously did not know about. However, it could be applied to my argument, although it could have talked about how he is a method actor in his other films like 'Wolf Of Wall Street' and 'Shutter Island'.
5. Daily Actor's interview with Leonardo DiCaprio's acting coach, Larry Moss
http://www.dailyactor.com/2014/09/leonardo-dicaprios-acting-coach-larry-moss-on-dicaprios-performances-in-the-aviator-and-the-wolf-of-wall-street/
This article explains the preparation DiCaprio does in order to get into his roles, in this case the preparation he did for 'The Aviator' and 'The Wolf Of Wolf Street'. To help make Dicaprio's version of Howard Hughes in 'The Aviator' more accurate and realistic, he listened to lots of audio recordings of Hughes so he could master Hughes' 'curious voice patterns'. To prepare for the quaalude scenes in 'The Wolf Of Wall Street', Dicaprio talked to Jordan Belfort (the character he is playing in the film) and doctors about how the brain acts under this drug and how people act when they are under it, as he would have to act it out in the film. This is source is very useful because it shows us how DiCaprio is a method actor in 2 films and in both he used different techniques, which gives me more to write about.
6. SAG's Interview with Leonardo DiCaprio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61oxkOk4jy0
In this interview, Dicaprio explains that he had to wear a neck brace for the quaalude scene in Wolf of Wall Street, as he decided to perform the stunts himself instead of using a stunt double which was advised on set. Scorsese didn't meet Belfort as he wanted to make his own film whereas Dicaprio met him before shooting the film and even called him on set to make the performance accurate and realistic. This source is useful because it gives me 2 ways which Leonardo is a method actor, which gives me 2 more points to argue for DiCaprio being a method actor, yet it could be more useful if it gave me more techniques which he has used in his other films to further illustrate the point.
7. Interview with Leonardo DiCaprio about Django Unchained for MediaJOR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELNUeD5PDfI
This is an interview with Leonardo DiCaprio when he was promoting Django Unchained and in the interview he mainly talks about the character he played in the film, Calvin Candie. I will be using this interview for quotes from DiCaprio about his character as he personally hated the character which means he would have put any of his personal thoughts/ experiences into the character, which is an element of method acting. As a result, this will help me argue that DiCaprio didn't fully method act in Django Unchained because he didn't put any personal experiences or thoughts into his character.
8. Variety's article on Dicaprio's acting style
http://variety.com/2014/film/news/leonardo-dicaprio-tackles-roles-that-push-the-envelope-1201096254/
In this article, Leonardo states he watched 'classic' films to help him prepare for 'The Aviator'. Dicaprio stated that he was 'blown away by the vulnerability of James Dean in “East of Eden” and “stunned” by the power of Montgomery Clift' and that performance helped him when preparing for 'The Aviator'. He added 'it was that knowledge and respect he credits with guiding him away from traditional leading man roles and to pursue work that has compelled him'. Like the previous source, this source isn't very useful because it only tells me one technique which Dicaprio has used to help his method acting, however I am still using this source because the point is an important and valid point which furthers my argument on why DiCaprio is a method actor.
9. Leonardo DiCaprio's Box Office
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=leonardodicaprio.htm
This is a page showing how much all the films DiCaprio has starred in have made at the box office. I will be using this information to explain a parallel which DiCaprio and Howard Hughes, a character he plays have, which is they are both box office stars, as their films made a lot of money at the box office. This will further my argument that DiCaprio is a method actor because the parallels he has with Hughes mean that he would have put his own personal experiences into the character, an element of method acting.
10. Wikipedia Page on Hell's Angels
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell%27s_Angels_(film)
This is a page showing how much Hell's Angels, a film Howard Hughes directed and produced, made at the box office, as well as other information about the film. I will be using this information to explain a parallel which DiCaprio and Howard Hughes, a character he plays have, which is they are both box office stars, as their films made a lot of money at the box office. This will further my argument that DiCaprio is a method actor because the parallels he has with Hughes mean that he would have put his own personal experiences into the character, an element of method acting.
This is a book which explains what method acting is and how has changed and been reconsidered over the years since it first was discussed by Stanislaviski. Similarly to Acting: A Handbook Of The Stanislavski Method, I will use this book for quotes about method acting and certain method acting techniques in order for me to judge whether Leonardo Dicaprio is a method acting. Once again, this book doesn't discuss whether Dicaprio is a method acting, yet this source is useful because I can use the method acting techniques the book suggests in order for me to judge if DiCaprio is a method actor.
12. Scorsese by Jim Sangster (2001)
Although this book is about Scorsese, it discusses the production of 'Gangs Of New York', a film which DiCaprio stars in and the book discusses his method acting for this film, which involved him going through 9 months of intensive street-fighting training. This book is useful to me because I can use this quote from the book and it will help further my argument that DiCaprio is a method actor.
13. Leonardo DiCaprio's Net Worth
http://www.therichest.com/celebnetworth/celeb/actors/leonardo-dicaprio-net-worth/
This is a page which gives an estimated net worth for Leonardo DiCaprio, as well as other celebrities. I am using this information to explain a parallel between Howard Hughes and DiCaprio himself, which is they both have a large net worth. Furthermore, I will be using this information to argue that DiCaprio is a method actor because he has parallels with the character he is playing, and therefore he would have put some of his own personal experiences into the character as they have similarities which would make DiCaprio a method actor.
15. Leonardo DiCaprio on 'The Jay Leno Show', 2004
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYvfDLZ2KTY
In this interview, DiCaprio discusses the great lengths he went to in 'The Aviator' to nail Howard Hughes' OCD, which lead him to actually gaining OCD himself while on the set. This source is useful because it shows the extent to which Dicpario was in character whilst filming 'The Avaitor' and how that performance actually had an impact on his life, therefore I can use this point to help argue my opinion that DiCaprio is a method actor.
16. Leonardo DiCaprio Interview for ExtraTV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLSN51bKPdc
Leonardo DiCaprio speaks in this interview about how he didn't use any body doubles in 'The Wolf Of Wall Street' saying 'when you play a character like this you have to go all out'. I will use this source because this a method acting technique as it would have helped him to get into character more and shows how he wanted to make his performance as realistic as possible. This source could have been better however because he doesn't talk about other techniques he used to help him get into character, the point it makes is a valid point which furthers my argument.
17. An article about DiCaprio's method acting in 'The Revenant'
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/leonardo-dicaprio-the-revenant-animal-carcasses-raw-bison_56280485e4b0bce34703e7d5
This article explains the method acting DiCaprio did for his latest film 'The Revenant', which included him sleeping in dead animals, eating raw livers and going in and out of freezing cold rivers. This source is very useful to me because it gives me lots of different techniques DiCaprio used for this film to get into character, which will help me answer my question which is DiCaprio a method actor, and these examples will help me argue that he is a method actor.
18. An article on DiCaprio's 40 birthday party
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2832049/Leonardo-DiCaprio-parties-slew-beauties-celeb-buds-40th-birthday-bash-LA.html
This article explains what happened during Leonardo DiCaprio's 40th birthday party. I will be using this article to help explain that DiCaprio used these personal experiences of partying to help him play Jordan Belfort in 'The Wolf of Wall Street', which makes him a method actor. Therefore, this source is helpful because it's useful evidence that DiCaprio parties similar to what Belfort did and therefore this helps explain my argument.
19. Howard Hughes' WikiPedia Page
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Hughes
This page gives me lots of information about Howard Hughes, the character DiCaprio plays in 'The Aviator'. I am using this information to see if there is any parallels between Howard Hughes and DiCaprio himself, which there is as they both have a large net worth. Furthermore, I will be using this information to argue that DiCaprio is a method actor because he has parallels with the character he is playing, and therefore he would have put some of his own personal experiences into the character as they have similarities which would make DiCaprio a method actor.
Rejections
Leonardo DiCaprio discussing 'The Wolf of Wall Street' on 'The Ellen Show' 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QflekFEDv9Y
In this interview, Dicaprio only spoke about the making of The Wolf of Wall Street and Jonah Hill's improvisation during the making of the film. This is a shame as I needed information on his method acting and this interview never gave me any information on this.
Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Terance Winter and Martin Scorsese talk about 'The Wolf of Wall Street' for 'The Hollywood Reporter' 2014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBDsoW1ClJM
In this interview, they spoke mainly about making The Wolf of Wall Street and how they received financing for the film. This is a shame as I needed information on his method acting and this interview never gave me any information on this.
The Beach (2000, Danny Boyle)
I have rejected 'The Beach' because this is a film which DiCaprio did early on in his career and he didn't use any method acting to help him get into his character, probably as his character isn't as complex as other characters he has played later on in his career. As a result, this film doesn't help my argument that he is a method actor and as a result I have rejected this film.
I like your post.The new term is almost upon us and I am very excited to announce that we will spend the sessions exploring Method Acting. As part of this term we will also be
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