Meryl Streep, ‘The Devil Wears Prada’, method acting, and being depressed in the name of art
Method acting is a polarising branch of the theatrical profession. Based on the mid-20th century teachings of acting coach Konstantin Stanislavski, it calls on an actor to draw from personal experience to imbue their performance with authenticity. Sometimes, it simply involves conjuring a painful memory to successfully perform a tearful scene, but it can also go much further, such as when Robert De Niro interviewed one of his own stalkers and did a little stalking himself in order to prepare for his role in The King of Comedy. Often, method actors will stay in character between takes or, in the case of Austin Butler’s Elvis, indefinitely.
No one would deny that method acting has produced some indelible performances, but there are plenty of actors who dismiss the whole thing entirely. Kate Winslet hates the word, saying she has “an allergic reaction to wanky process”, while Laurence Olivier had a legendary response when he learned about the process of his Marathon Man co-star, Dustin Hoffman. When the young actor informed Olivier that he had stayed awake for three days straight to prepare for his role, the older actor responded, “Why don’t you just try acting?”
Whichever way you slice it, method acting is gruelling, and for some, it just isn’t worth it. Meryl Streep came around to that sentiment at a specific point in her career despite having had formal training in the Method from when she attended the Yale School of Drama.
Looking back on Streep’s career, you might assume that the film that turned her against method acting would have been something emotionally harrowing, like Kramer vs. Kramer or Sophie’s Choice, but it wasn’t. Speaking to an interviewer in 2021, the actor said it was her iconic role in The Devil Wears Prada, in which she plays the acid-tongued editor-in-chief of a leading fashion magazine, that sealed the deal.
“It was horrible!” she said. “I was [miserable] in my trailer. I could hear them all rocking and laughing. I was so depressed! I said, ‘Well, it’s the price you pay for being boss!’ That’s the last time I ever attempted a Method thing!”
The issue wasn’t so much about taking an unpleasant character home with her but about having to distance herself from her castmates. Emily Blunt, who played her long-suffering assistant in the film, was sympathetic, saying, “Meryl is so gregarious and fun as hell, in some ways it wasn’t the most fun for her having to remove herself. It wasn’t like she was unapproachable; You could go up to her and say, ‘Oh my God, the funniest thing just happened,’ and she’d listen, but I don’t know if it was the most fun for her to be on set being that way.”
Anne Hathaway, who starred in the film and had to receive the brunt of Streep’s character’s put-downs, had similar memories. “I did feel intimidated, but I always felt cared for. I knew that whatever she was doing to create that fear, I appreciated [because] I also knew she was watching out for me.”
Clearly, getting rid of the method acting process has not harmed Streep’s performances since, at least if the seven Oscar nominations she’s received after The Devil’s Wears Prada are anything to go by. Could someone please get the memo to Jared Leto?
