Are Psychotic Roles Hazardous to an Actor's Health?

By Catherine Donaldson-Evans Posted Dec 31st 2010 04:30PM

Shortly before his death from prescription pills, Heath Ledger admitted to The New York Times that playing the deranged character of the Joker in 'The Dark Knight' haunted him so deeply that he stopped sleeping. Now it seems as though Natalie Portman can relate. She hints that she was traumatized as she grew into her disturbing role in 'Black Swan' as a ballet dancer who loses her mind.

"There were some nights that I thought I literally was going to die," she tells EW in its forthcoming issue. "It was the first time I understood how you could get so wrapped up in a role that it could sort of take you down."

Countless other stars have played mentally ill or downright psychotic characters: Jack Nicholson in 'The Shining,' Christian Bale in 'American Psycho,' Angelina Jolie in 'Girl, Interrupted,' Robert DeNiro and Johnny Depp in just about anything. And while those roles often win accolades, little has been made of the psychological impact they might have.

University of Pennsylvania psychiatrist Christos Ballas says there's no doubt that playing complicated characters can indeed be hazardous to your health.

"[There are risks] in taking on a really intense role -- it takes a toll on you," he tells PopEater. "The risk is they become the identity they're playing. What often happens is that they change. You're forcing someone to become someone else and then asking them to go back to normal."

So can acting mentally disturbed actually drive a star over the edge? Or is it that actors have fragile psyches to begin with, so they're already vulnerable to mental instability? Better yet, are they just talking trash about trauma to grab headlines, which both Ledger and Portman did rather deftly?

The answer may be a little of all three. Ledger's comments to the Times about being "stressed out" while filming the Bob Dylan biopic 'I'm Not There' and battling insomnia while playing the Joker ("Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night. I couldn't stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going") may have been disarmingly honest, but they also were made during a publicity tour for the Dylan movie. And they certainly landed him -- and his films -- a whole lot of press.

"Acting is tricky business," Ballas says. "If you're really going to be a good actor and really get into that role, you want to lose yourself. Either you have to have a really weak identity to throw yourself into the role, or you have to have a strong identity you remember to go back to when the role is over."

Sometimes, there's a mixing up of fantasy and reality -- where an actor is so consumed by his character that he begins to behave like that person even when the cameras aren't rolling (Joaquin Phoenix, anyone?). But the serious psychological condition involving the blurring of what is real and what is make-believe, called dissociation, probably doesn't befall most performers.

They can easily get way too caught up in the world of the film, though.

"You see a lot of instances where the actor or actress falls in love with the person they fall in love with in the movie," our psychiatrist says. "They truly believe they're making the right decision [to be with their costar] because they're still partially in character."

Cynics will gripe that stars are just doing the crazy talk to get attention. (After all, didn't we celebrity journalist types gobble up Portman's and Ledger's compelling quotes the minute they were fed to us?)

But the ploy for PR may not be the whole picture.

"Winona Ryder was fine and then she made 'Girl, Interrupted' and suddenly got arrested for being a klepto," says Ballas, never one to mince words. "A lot of people at that time thought she was doing it for publicity, but what really probably happened is that she just changed."

Some would say it takes a steely sort to emerge from such a grueling creative process unscathed. And really, as confident as they may appear, how many actors have that solid an identity?

"It's almost a stereotype, to say that people who want to go into acting have fractured egos and want self-affirmation," he tells us. "It's a very adolescent game, acting. You really have to be a fully formed, hard-core adult or you keep rolling into new identities."

But let's not be too hard on our stars, especially at this magical time of year, or we might be accused of being witchy, jealous little Grinches. Plenty of actors handle the mentally challenging roles with finesse. Portman may even be one of them.

Ballas does have some advice for the ones who struggle.

"You have to realize that the business you're in requires you to completely disconnect from it off-hours," he counsels. "The best method actors -- Johnny Depp, Robert DeNiro -- maintain a strong identity outside and have a strong private life."

Tags: Natalie Portman

Comments

(34)

Friday 31 December

By big johnson

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No they dont! I was born and raised in Southern California and as akid we took a field trips to Universal studios as a child! Nothing suprises me and its all fake! HOLLYWOOD! emotional

Saturday 01 January

By Trizone

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As a kid you took field trips to Universal Studios and now as an adult, you feel qualified to generalize for all of us how fake the industry is! Wow... I think the reference here has to do with an actor's transformation and how it is relayed to an audience. How the audience reacts to extreme scenes and their ability or inability to dismiss or process some experiences cannot be explained by your field trip to Universal Studios.... when you were a kid!

By glglan

When I watch a movie, I can almost see the cameras, the directors, and the set. Its all so fake, I dont see how anyone can be confussed by any of it. It can be the best movie of the year, and I still have to remind my self its only for intertainment.I love this , So does My boyfriend .he is almost 11year older than me .i met him via age'lessmate.c'om a nice place for seeking age le ss love.which gives you a chance to make your life better and open opportunities for you to meet the attractive young girls and treat you like a king. Maybe you wanna check it out or tell your friends..

By cathyopiqw

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Wanna know wher e people go to sn ag an i-nter-racial rel-ations-hip, say, Just for future reference? “i-nterr-acial Central”? “San Carlos” ? or “San Francisco”?*** Bl ackwhi teCu pid C 0/om *** is the real pl ace that is packed with them. ;)

★★★★★★ ;)

By smick1953

I think this article is right on the money. As we crave weirder and stranger movie experiences as a society we push already fragile egos that movie stars have without question, over the edge! It's happened way too many times to be coincidence. I hope Ms. Portman recovers. I as a movie goer try to stay away from movies that emotionally exhaust me. After seeing The Elephant Man with John Hurt back in the '80's, I couldn't sleep for a week and was extremely depressed immediately after seeing that film! It wasn't the image that caused it; it was the realization of his horrendous treatment and the sadness of his life. I also notice that Mr. Hurt has played many more sad characters after that too. We need to be aware of the great sacrifice that actors sometimes make for a film. With these kind of people, it's not just a job.

By diplobrat

You hit the nail on the head without realizing it. There is a vast difference between an actor and a 'movie star'. A movie star is rarely an actor, yet an actor is ALWAYS a movie star. Read up on Sir Laurence Olivier & Sir Ian McKellan. They will tell you what "acting" is. These wannabe's who get so stressed out (or dead) from their roles have forgotten that the key to acting- is ACTING.

By Nico Toscani

Those red eyes freak me right the f*ck out.

By mannequin

Only serious actors and actresses get so into their role that it affects them personally. Fly by night celebrities read a script and survive on scandal and media publicity.

By Mr. Kidd

Are disturbing/crazy/extreme movie roles dangerous to your health?

NO CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the most pointless/Captain Obvious article on PopEater to date.

There must've been some sort of article number quota and they had to bullcrap to get to it by 2011.

This just in from the Center For Obvious Research: You are correct.

By Susan

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You would think that a "good" actor would know the difference between realty and character role..Make believe wouldn't keep me up at night but real life problems would..

sorry..Reality!!

By Rick

What a bunch of ignorant twits. I guess Sir Laurence Olivier and Anthony Hopkins weren't good actors then. These jackwagon "stars" and their followers resemble all the little teenybops out there telling themselves that they really are vampires!

By MamaBear

Hey Natalie! The intensity is over. Sit back, relax and put some baby fat on that tiny body of yours. You've got a new human being on the way and you are its container. Feed it.
We watched you play Ann Bolyn and your acting outshone every single other actor/actress in that film (except dear Henry!) You may be a consumate actress, but you belong to real live people on this planet. Get back to us. We are your fans.

By Rexanne Daniels

Years ago I saw "The Swimmer" with Burt Lancaster and I was astounded at how it affected me. I had trouble sleeping for months and would burst into tears at nothing. I was so depressed that I had a few visits with a shrink. I refuse to see any depressive movies and rely on friends to "screen" films before I will see them.

By joe american

lol
most of these loons are just that, loons before they ever
make a movie or get into films...
look back at the old starts.... remmber montgomer clift,
loon
remember james dean, loon.

they were loons before... not after they played rolls protraying phycos..

what a bunch of crap....

By sharp914

Yes, just think about Heather O'Rourke of Poltergeist playing the little gil and heath ledger of Batman playing the joker. Sometimes movies and tv movies can go a little too far for the actors in the business.

By martbild

The little girl in Poltergeist died of septic shock or something similar. What does that have to do with the movie?

Sunday 02 January

By kisswoman

Yes she died of septic infection following an emergency appedectomy. ( she had appendicitis). She didn't survive the operation.

I believe they are. The increasingly thin line between reality and make believe and an actor's ability to transcend that boundary has got to be debilitating and addictive. To alter someone's physical appearance, belief system, human experience affects not only the actor but also the audience. That is why typecasting is such a possibility.

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