‘The Devil Wears Prada’: A filming experience that made Meryl Streep miserable
Meryl Streep is one of the most versatile actors working today. From the pure comedic joy of films like Mamma Mia and Death Becomes Her to the more serious drama of The Hours and Sophie’s Choice, it seems there’s nothing she can’t do on the big screen. However, there is one acting technique that Streep will never attempt again.
Method acting is a hot debate in the acting world and centres on the notion of totally embodying the role both on and off-set. To some, never leaving their character allows for a richer, deeper performance, like Charlize Theron’s take on Aileen Wuornos in Monster or Heath Ledger’s role as the Joker. But to others, it’s a cop-out only used to misbehave on set; as Robert Pattinson once said, “You only ever see people do the method when they’re playing an assholes.”
The latter was the case when Meryl Streep decided to test out the technique. While filming the 2006 film The Devil Wears Prada, the actor had to step into the shoes of her character Miranda Priestly before action was called. Playing a cutthroat fashion magazine boss, Streep would extend the role out of scenes to understand the character better.
She wasn’t horrible to her co-stars but kept her distance on set. Her co-star, Emily Blunt, told Entertainment Weekly, “it wasn’t like she was unapproachable”, adding, “but I don’t know if it was the most fun for her to be on set being that way.”
Streep agreed that her method acting experience wasn’t fun at all. “It was horrible! I was [miserable] in my trailer,” she said. “I could hear them all rocking and laughing. I was so depressed! I said, ‘Well, it’s the price you pay for being boss!'”
As a very different role for Streep, Miranda Priestly was a challenge. Providing minimal opportunity for empathy or humanity, the fashion boss is savage, blunt and cold. In contrast, Emily Blunt describes Streep as “so gregarious and fun as hell.”
Forcing Streep to distance herself from her cast members and find a crueller part of herself, the experience of staying inside that mean character didn’t make for a nice experience for the actor.
In fact, the experience put Streep off the acting technique forever, saying, “That’s the last time I ever attempted a Method thing!”
