Along with discussing the new limited series, his early acting career, and the death of his mother, Garfield opened up about his collaboration with Martin Scorsese on “Silence,” a film about two young Portuguese priests (Garfield and Adam Driver) who undertake a treacherous mission. in Japan in the 17th century.
The 39-year-old also opened up about the method game, saying there have been ‘misconceptions’ surrounding the technique.
The Spider-Man star said he studied Catholicism with a Jesuit priest, went on a 31-day spiritual retreat and gave up “sex and food” before shooting the film.
“You end up in a pretty deep space,” Garfield said. “It’s a process of transformation.”
“I was celibate for six months (…) and I fasted a lot,” he added. “I had some pretty crazy, trippy experiences depriving myself of sex and food during this time.”
Garfield said he was inspired by the acting method when researching the role, adding that he was “bothered by the misconception” that exists around the technique.
“It’s not about being an a**hole to everyone on set. It’s actually about living honestly in imaginary circumstances, and being really nice to the team at the same time, and being a normal human being, and being able to drop it when you need to and stay there when you want to stay there.”
It encourages actors to use their “physical, mental and emotional selves” to create a character while drawing on their own life experiences for the role, the institute adds.
Actors such as Marlon Brando, Daniel Day-Lewis and Robert De Niro are known for using the immersive technique, which sees stars remaining in character during a project.