10 More Actors Who Took Method Acting Way Too Far

In The Pianist, Adrien Brody played the Polish-Jewish pianist and Holocaust survivor Władysław Szpilman.

Brody showed his commitment to the role via the brutal preparation process he put himself through before filming began.

Director Roman Polanski made Brody practice the piano for four hours a day until he was able to do a spot-on impression of his character's work.

Not only that, but Brody himself felt that he had to become the character he was playing. So, he sold his car, his apartment, most of his belongings, and withdrew from the public eye for months. He also broke up with his girlfriend at the time, as you do.

The actor also went on an extreme diet to lose 30 pounds in six weeks, living off two boiled eggs for breakfast, a little chicken for lunch, and a small amount of fish or chicken with steamed vegetables for dinner.

Brody admitted to IndieWire that he was "depressed for a year after The Pianist", opening up about the mental toll he suffered from the role.

It paid off though, as Brody became the youngest person ever, at the age of 29, to win the Oscar for Best Actor.