The Oscar-winning actor revealed that was the last time she'd "ever attempted a Method thing!"
When it comes to versatility in acting, Meryl Streep is one of the best out there. When she stepped into the shoes of Miranda Priestly, Editor-in-Chief of Runway Magazine for The Devil Wears Prada and said, "Details of your incompetence do not interest me," all of us felt the power she effused. To us, the Oscar-winning actor playing the mean boss in the 2006 movie seemed like child's play.
Surprisingly, it wasn't all that easy revealed Streep, 71, to Entertainment Weekly while commemorating the dramedy's approaching 15-year-anniversary alongside her co-stars Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci. To perfect the role of the domineering and intimidating Priestly, Streep said she attempted a technique called method acting—used by some actors to deliver stellar performances. This method demands the actor identifies with the character's inner world and motives so deeply that they become the character for the performance to be accurate and real onscreen.
But apparently, Streep was "depressed" by it all. "It was horrible! I was [miserable] in my trailer. I could hear them all rocking and laughing," Streep said. "I was so depressed! I said, 'Well, it's the price you pay for being boss!'"
Co-star Emily Blunt also noted it wasn't "the most fun for her to be on set being that way," per Fox News.
"Meryl is so gregarious and fun as hell, in some ways it wasn't the most fun for her having to remove herself. It wasn't like she was unapproachable; You could go up to her and say, 'Oh my God, the funniest thing just happened,' and she'd listen, but I don't know if it was the most fun for her to be on set being that way," Emily explained.
But, despite the wall that Streep put up to remain in character even when the camera was not on, Anne Hathaway knew she was always looking out for her. Anne noted, "I did feel intimidated, but I always felt cared for. I knew that whatever she was doing to create that fear, I appreciated [because] I also knew she was watching out for me."
The actress added that she was done with that particular technique for good, too. "That's the last time I ever attempted a Method thing!"
However, it's safe to say that Streep had prior experience with method acting. When she was 12-years-old, she wasn't what people considered "girly" back then, but she had a lot of talent to make up for it. "I studied the character I imagined I wanted to be, that of the generically pretty high school girl, " Said Streep, according to Financial Review. When she turned 14, she took off her braces, wore contacts, and even doused her hair in lemon juice and peroxide to make it shine like gold.
She even spent time studying what boys liked, and made slight changes to her temperament. Instead of being "slightly bossy. a little opinionated, loud (a little loud), full of pronouncements and high spirits...I wilfully cultivated softness, agreeableness, a breezy natural sort of sweetness, even shyness ...which was very very, very, very, very effective on the boys. But the girls didn't buy it... They sniffed it out, the acting."
In simple terms, she was an excellent imposter: "I worked harder on this characterization, really than anyone that I think I've ever done since," she said, and later, "This was real, real acting."
References:
https://ew.com/movies/devil-wears-prada-cast-reunion/
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/meryl-streep-depressed-filming-the-devil-wears-prada
Cover Image Source: IMDb/The Devil Wears Prada
