Some actors go Method to prepare for roles, others go to extremes.
Willem Dafoe, who co-stars with Robert Pattinson in the Oscar-buzzy film “The Lighthouse,” opened up to Mr Porter’s The Journal about Pattinson’s work ethic on set and admitted he thought it was “wacky.”
“He’s not interested in craft, I think,” Dafoe, 64, told the publication. “He wants to throw himself into deep water and he feels like it will only be true if he’s drowning. Which, for this role, is perfect because that’s the state he’s going to be in. For me, that seemed wacky. But I’m not trying to judge.
“He has a good sense of the visual, of what’s needed in a close-up,” he explained. Sometimes he’d beat himself up so bad. He’d stick his fingers down his throat, things like that.”
Pattinson, 33, revealed he would pull the trigger, so to speak, to conjure up tears.
“I would sneak off into a corner and gag, away from Willem. I think everyone feels very emotional when they’re throwing up, and it’s quite a nice little trick to get there,” said Pattinson. “He didn’t know I was doing it until one scene where I was absolutely forced to do it in close proximity.”
Rob Eggers, the director of “The Lighthouse,” which tells the story of two lightkeepers trying to maintain their sanity while living on a remote island in New England during the 1890s, admitted Dafoe was incredibly wary of Pattinson’s tactics.
“Before every take,” Eggers said, “Rob was sticking his fingers down his throat. Willem gave me a look as if to say, ‘If this guy f–king pukes on me…’”
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