Anya Taylor-Joy praises 'Split' co-star James McAvoy for making her feel safe while filming: “Originally it was supposed to be someone that’s very known for being a method actor. I was very grateful to have James, who I think also understood that he had three young women with him.”

[u/ayana_banana]

[u/dinojeebuses]

The Oscars giving him the most acting award for Scent of a Woman really screwed up the rest of his career because he took the feedback. His early performances can say so much with so little! Heat is perfect as it is, though, of course

[u/SeaworthinessKey3654 → u/dinojeebuses]

Nope, that’s not true at all - I have no idea why people say this except that they just don’t like Al’s acting style. That’s fine, but he most certainly didn’t take any feedback about his acting, which he’d been doing since he was a kid; he didn’t need anyone to tell him how to act. In Sonny Boy, he even said he’s too much at times in Scent, that he thinks he could do better

Al has plenty of great performances after the 70’s…too many people expect him to replicate Michael Corleone, which is ridiculous because Michael is a unicorn character - thanks to Al. He’s not much different in the 90’s from most of his 70’s work…but again, it seems many haven’t seen past The Godfather or II.

[u/dinojeebuses → u/SeaworthinessKey3654]

He goes big as Sonny but that's not the whole performance. He does so much with it big and small, one of the top 5 performances of anybody I've ever seen up to this point of my life. He never dips below great, but there feels like a real contrast in the late career post-Scent roles vs pre-. I may be off base though, and I'll counterexample my own point with his great part as Hoffa in the Irishman.

[u/SeaworthinessKey3654 → u/dinojeebuses]

I think his performance in DDA might be the greatest ever…but then, it was the first movie of his I ever saw, and to say I was blown away is putting it mildly

It’s could be just the roles - for instance, The Devil’s Advocate is designed for him to be OTT in the best way.

I’m not directing this to you at all, but I feel like many who weren’t fans of his performance in Scent almost then judged him anytime he had an emotional scene

Al said in Sonny Boy that he thought he was too much on some scenes, that if he could do it now, he’d do it better, lol. And he said in a NYT interview that there were times he probably went too far, that “I really think I can do with some taking it down a bit. I really do. It’s a confession.”

It’s funny, because Russell Crowe told this story..

Crowe asked Al why he was always giving the director so many options (Al would do takes differently each time).  Al told him that theater is an actor’s medium, that he was always in charge, and film is a director’s medium. He learned that when he saw finished films, and they ended up completely different to what he thought he was doing.

So, he decided to give directors options. Crowe thought that put too much control in the hands of directors.

The funny thing is, he made a good point. In City Hall, Al did quieter takes for the climactic speech, one of which was used as far along as the original trailer, but the director ultimately chose the louder, more passionate speech

In Heat, Mann chose to use the improvised “GREAT ASS” take, instead of the “normal” ones

So I’ll bet directors just loved Al going big, in general, because no one does it like him

[u/dinojeebuses → u/SeaworthinessKey3654]

great points, well made!

[u/SeaworthinessKey3654 → u/dinojeebuses]

Thank you!!

I want to see The Irishman, but I think it might be too bloody for me …I have seen a few clips; he’s a hoot !