There are some exceptional actors and actresses out there these days who put their heart and soul into playing a character. In fact, some admit they have been changed by the roles they played.
Colin Firth, who played future King George VI in The King’s Speech, admitted he struggled to give up his character’s famous stammer after he finished shooting.
He said in an interview eight months after the film was released that he occasionally lapsed into the speech impediment, as he had practised the stutter so much during filming.
When it comes to accents, some people can put them on flawlessly. Charlie Hunnam is one such actor who has such a convincing American drawl that not many realise he is actually British.
In fact, when he was chosen to play the lead character in King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, he had to use a dialect coach to remind himself how to speak in an English accent again.
Anyone who has watched The Shining understands how terrifying the movie must have been to shoot. In fact, Shelley Duvall, who played Wendy Torreance, admitted her mental health massively suffered after the film.
She told The Hollywood Reporter it took over a year to shoot the horror movie, with director Stanley Kubrick being famous for his intense filming practices.
To prepare for the role, she had to “listen to sad songs”.
She went on to say: “Or you just think about something very sad in your life or how much you miss your family or friends. But after a while, your body rebels. It says: ‘Stop doing this to me. I don’t want to cry every day.’ And sometimes just that thought alone would make me cry.'”
Of course, acting roles should not cause your mental or physical state to decline, but it is clear some people, including those who honed their skills in acting classes in Liverpool, struggle to shed their character once they stop filming.