Stranger Things star David Harbour has slammed method acting, saying that the controversial technique is "dangerous" and "silly".
The 47-year-old-actor - who's best known for playing Police Chief Jim Hopper in the hit Netflix show Stranger Things - gave his views on the acting style during a recent interview with GQ.
Method acting refers to when performers stay in character for extended periods on and off set. In recent years, the technique has been popularized by actors like Daniel Day-Lewis, Jared Leto, and Christian Bale - all of which gained notoriety as tales of their off-screen antics come to light.
But Harbour made it clear that he wasn't a fan of the style. During his chat with the magazine, the Black Widow star explained that he was trained in classical American method acting - but that he eventually decided against the technique.
"When I was younger — it’s so embarrassing — but I remember playing that famous Scottish king and being like, 'I’m gonna kill a cat' or something. 'I’m gonna go murder something to know what it feels like to murder'," Harbour said.
"I didn’t actually do it, obviously. Not only is that stuff silly, it’s dangerous, and it actually doesn’t produce good work," he added.
Harbour went on to speak more specifically about three-time Oscar winner Day-Lewis - one of the most famous proponents of the style.
"He’s an extraordinary actor who I’m captivated and fascinated by [but] when he explains his process it sounds like nonsense to me," he admitted.
While many actors are committed to the method technique, there is a growing number who are speaking out against it. Harbour's comments come just a few months after Mads Mikkelsen blasted it as "bulls***".
"It's bulls***," he told GQ back in April. "But preparation, you can take into insanity. What if it's a s*** film, what do you think you achieved? Am I impressed that you didn't drop character? You should have dropped it from the beginning. How do you prepare for a serial killer? You gonna spend two years checking it out?"
However, there are still many performers who are determined that method acting will take their performance to the next level. Recently, Jared Leto made headlines after reports arose that he had to be given a wheelchair on the set of Morbius because he refused to stop using his character's crutches when taking bathroom breaks.
Elvis star Austin Butler also found himself in the spotlight when people noticed that he was continuing to use the rock'n'roll star's accent during interviews.