These actors lost themselves in their role

Method acting, I don't think I'll ever fully understand it. Now, I'm not really a talented actress anyway, which I proved with my eighth-grade musical. After that, I never got another role. But well, method acting is a thing and some actors swear by it. And often, those are also the actors who completely lose themselves in their role. Those who, even when the cameras aren't rolling, remain fully in their character or who, as preparation, completely live as their on-screen persona. Admittedly, it often pays off, as there are a few particularly beautiful roles among them.

1. Heath Ledger — The Joker (The Dark Knight)
To prepare for this role, this actor locked himself in a hotel room for a month and kept a diary every day. Rumors still circulate that his overdose (an accident) was the result of how deeply he was affected by his role. He passed away far too early and deserved an Oscar for his role (posthumously).

2. Jared Leto — The Joker (Suicide Squad)
I think we can say that this portrayal of The Joker was somewhat less successful. What a dramatic film, I must say. Persistent rumors circulate that he treated his co-stars to ‘gifts’ as preparation for this grim role, such as a dead rat for Margot Robbie. That didn't go down too well.

3. Jim Carrey — Andy Kaufman (Man On The Moon)
Carrey even went so far that his method acting became a problem for the people working on the film. He remained continuously in his role and later sought psychological help to get Andy Kaufman ‘out of his head’. Anyway, the result is impressive. Beautiful film.

4. Daniel Day-Lewis
This Oscar-winning actor is known for his method acting. That is probably also the reason he is known to be quite difficult to work with, which I can imagine; if one of the main actors refuses to step out of his role between takes, that seems quite challenging. In Gangs of New York, he wanted to portray his role as authentically as possible and refused to wear warmer clothing; he only walked around in 19th-century clothing. Result: pneumonia.

5. Kate Winslet
After playing a concentration camp guard in The Reader, she suffered from the role for months. She described it as a car accident from which she took a long time to recover because she had immersed herself so deeply.

6. Tom Hanks
The internet's favorite can also sometimes lose himself. During the filming of Cast Away, he refused to cut his hair or take a bath (his character was stranded on a deserted island), which resulted in an ugly infection. In The Green Mile, he remained continuously in his role, much to the displeasure of writer Stephen King.

7. Leonardo DiCaprio
He finally won his long-awaited Oscar for The Revenant. And he did everything for it. To prepare for his role, he ate raw bison meat, while he is usually a vegetarian. He also actually slept in the carcass of a dead animal (as in the film) and spent a lot of time in places where the temperatures were well below zero.