Martin Freeman has used Carrey's performance in 'Man on the Moon' as an example of a school of acting that he considers pretentious.
Some actors take the character home and others who when they hear "Cut!" They change their clothes and go have a few drinks. According to Martin Freeman, the British are more of this second style, as opposed to a much-vaunted school of acting in Hollywood.
The 'The Hobbit' actor has used Jim Carrey's performance in 'Man on the Moon' as an example to point out a style that he considers pretentious and "a very impractical way of working." "To be honest, it's pretty upsetting when someone loses themselves, it's very upsetting because it's not a job anymore," he said.
Regarding Carrey's case, which was explored in the documentary 'Jim and Andy', the Briton has expressed the following: "I'm sure that Jim Carrey is a wonderful and intelligent person, but that is the most self-indulgent, selfish. "I've never seen a narcissistic person. And the idea that any part of our culture can celebrate or support that is disturbing, literally disturbing."
The Netflix documentary, released in 2017, shows how Carrey made life miserable for his colleagues in Milos Forman's film 'Man on the Moon'. The comedian carried out one of his most applauded roles playing Andy Kaufman, but it took a heavy psychological toll on him, which the film's cast and crew also suffered.
Jim Carrey is by no means the only Hollywood actor who has boasted of using this method to act: Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Daniel Day-Lewis, Al Pacino, Adrien Brody, Jack Nicholson, Christian Bale... and some Actresses like Angelina Jolie have had moments when they got too into their characters. In recent years the most talked about case has been Joaquin Phoenix and his transformation into 'Joker'.
However, in the post-#MeToo era, people in Hollywood have begun to value treating their colleagues well over what many have always considered a way of making art at all costs. Martin Freeman thinks it is pretentious and unnecessary. "You have to stay grounded in reality, and that doesn't mean you can't lose yourself between 'Action' and 'Cut,' but I think the rest is pretentious, amateurish nonsense. It's not professional. Do the work," the 'Sherlock' actor says in the podcast. "My job is to show up, do what I can, be fully prepared. Do what I'm asked. It's also my job to be nice and cooperative and have a good experience on set."
