10 More Actors Who Prepared For Roles In The Worst Possible Way

Always check whether it's Joel Cohen or Joel Coen when you sign on for a picture.

By Andrew Pollard /

Wise old Benjamin Franklin once proclaimed that by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.

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Far from just a catchy quip, there's clearly a whole bunch of merit behind Franklin's remarks. And when it comes to the world of acting and entertainment, preparation is very much key to making the most of an opportunity and maximising your minutes on the big or small screen.

Of course, some stars don't always prepare in the best possible way for a role. That's not to say they do no preparation, but more a case of them preparing in a way that seems utterly detrimental to the part they're playing - or, in some cases, a part they've yet to even land.

There have been numerous cases where actors had prepared for roles in the absolute worst of ways, and now I've dug a little deeper to uncover a further ten examples of such bone-headed, misguided or downright creepy ways they've done so.

Looking across both the movie and TV landscapes, here's some prepping routines that will baffle you, will shock you, and one or two that will even have you laughing in amazement.

10. Jamie Dornan - The Fall

In order to get himself ready to play serial killer Paul Spector in The Fall, Jamie Dornan went to genuinely scary lengths.

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Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, the Irish actor revealed that he actually stalked somebody for real as part of his preparation for the Netflix series. And not just that, but he actually enjoyed the buzz of following a complete stranger.

As Dornan put:

"I, like, followed a woman off the train one day to see what it felt like to pursue someone like that. I really kept my distance. She got off a few stops earlier than I was planning, so I said, 'Right, I have to commit to this'. I followed her around a couple of street corners."

He went on:

"It felt kind of exciting, in a really sort of dirty way. I'm sort of not proud of myself, but I do honestly think I learned something from it."

Of course, what makes this a truly awful way to prepare for a role is the sheer fact that stalking somebody - even briefly - is all kinds of creepy as hell.

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