Mads Mikkelsen has slammed the techniques of method actors like Lady Gaga and Jared Leto, calling the technique "bulls***."
In an interview for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, the Danish actor - who is replacing Johnny Depp as the franchise's villain Gellert Grindelwald - opened up about how he prepares for roles.
Method acting is an extreme technique where actors stay in character for the duration of a project - regardless of whether they are on camera or not.
In recent months, Lady Gaga has made headlines for employing the approach while filming House of Gucci, where she reportedly spoke with a thick Italian accent for months and purportedly needed a psychiatric nurse on set.
Meanwhile, this week Jared Leto's method acting put him in the spotlight 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.
Now, during a recent interview with GQ, Mikkelsen made it very clear what he thought of the technique, saying: "It's bulls***."
"Preparation, you can take into insanity," he continued, adding: "What if it’s a s**t 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?"
Mikkelsen is no stranger to undergoing rigorous preparation for a role. He learned to ride horses and sword fight for his first English-language blockbuster King Arthur (2004), and even learned to speak French for Age of Uprising (2013).
However, he draws the line at going method, saying: "It’s just pretentious. Daniel Day-Lewis is a great actor. But it’s got nothing to do with [his method acting]."
That said, the Casino Royale star said he would love to work alongside a method actor - if only so he could mess with them. He joked: "I would have the time of my life, just breaking down the character constantly. 'I’m having a cigarette? This is from 2020, it’s not from 1870 – can you live with it?'"
Later in the interview, Mikkelsen went on to blame the media for their awed response to actors never breaking character, implying that it resulted in performers winning undeserved accolades.
"The media goes, 'Oh my god, he took it so seriously, therefore he must be fantastic; let’s give him an award.' Then that’s the talk, and everybody knows about it, and it becomes a thing," he said.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore hits US cinemas on April 15.