Eva Green Says She’s No Method Actor: I’m Not Someone Who Says ‘Don’t Talk to Me’ on Set

Samantha Bergeson
·2 min read
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Eva Green is placing her bets on “happy” sets going forward.

The “Casino Royale” alum addressed the notion that other actors have a “don’t talk to me” policy while in character for roles. Green, who leads the thriller “Nocebo” as a mentally disturbed fashion designer, called the horror genre “jubilating” in its freedom to “let all your demons out” during production. But that doesn’t mean utilizing the misinterpreted Method acting tactic of strictly staying in character.

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“This was a very happy set. I’m not somebody who is like, ‘I’m still the character, I’m sorry, don’t talk to me,’ you know?” Green told The A.V. Club. “It’s just a little movie…But as an actor, thank God I’m not really living what Christine is going through. Otherwise, I would have ended up in a cuckoo home.”

Green noted that the indie thriller offered a different type of role for her.

“It’s more fun to do things like this than lots of wordy dialogue,” the “Golden Compass” actress said. “Something with these extremes, you can let all your demons out. Even if it’s dark, it’s kind of jubilating, really…Horror is quite close to something jubilating. Fear gives you goosebumps, but joy as well. It’s fun, you know, it’s extreme stuff.”

Just don’t typecast Green as playing “dark” roles.

“Sometimes I get a bit upset when people put me in one box. ‘Dark’ — what does that mean, dark?” Green said. “I like to call [my type] more ‘complex,’ or as you said, we never know what it looks like, what’s behind, those secrets and stuff. That’s more interesting.”

Recently, Ethan Hawke spoke out on extreme Method acting techniques. “My thoughts are that a lot of extremely gifted and inspired people are extremely selfish. And it works for them,” Hawke said. “It’s interpreted a lot of different ways. Yeah, Dustin Hoffman wants to stay up all night, or Daniel Day-Lewis builds an outhouse or whatever. It’s their interpretation of what the Method is working for them, and that’s the genius of what Kazan, Strasberg, Stanislavski were teaching.”

Hawke added, “I know that ordinary effort creates ordinary results, and the longevity and genius of Daniel Day-Lewis’ career proves that there’s method to his madness. I don’t sit in judgment. I find it endlessly fascinating. Personally, I think it’s crazy. But it works!”

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