9 Times Method Actors Actually Forgot Who They Really Were

4. Al Pacino Tried To Arrest A Guy While Making Serpico

Al Pacino took acting to extremes in his 1970s heyday, but not many people know just how much the method used to affect him. For example, playing Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II sank him into depression, while playing wired bank robber Sonny in Dog Day Afternoon put him in the hospital for exhaustion and forced him to drop out of movies for two years. Before that though, Pacino made Serpico for Sidney Lumet, and therein lies the first recorded instance of Pacino coming close to losing it as a result of letting a character take over his life.

According to Lumet, Pacino put himself in the state of the mind of cop Frank Serpico so deeply that he couldn't shake that state off-camera; if he was angry for one scene, he'd lash out at the crew, whereas if he was filming a lighthearted scene he'd joke around and be friendly. Even off-set, Pacino would still remain in-character, which caused problems considering he was playing a policeman.

One time, while driving around New York, Pacino pulled a truck driver over and threatened to arrest him, but Al let the guy off, which is fortunate more for Pacino than anyone, seeing as he had zero jurisdiction to arrest anybody.