10 Craziest Method Acting Behind Great Performances

Nowadays, Daniel Day Lewis is probably the first name that pops into your head when you think of method actors, and the stories in which he’s taken preparation to the extreme and beyond are myriad. Few are stranger than his work on The Last Of The Mohicans, though - not just because of the prep itself, but because of the film’s nature.

The Last Of The Mohicans is a big, brilliant historical action epic. But it’s not high art; it’s not There Will Be Blood or My Left Foot. All the same, Day Lewis threw himself into the production with his usual verve. He learned to hunt and skin animals and generally live in the wilderness, along with some canoe building and advanced musket training for good measure.

The result is a performance which transcends the genre. Day Lewis could so easily have turned up, put in a gruff performance, done some running around, then gone home - but that’s not in his nature. If he’s in your film, you’re getting your money’s worth, even if that means your leading man prowling around the woods of North Carolina.