Playing a rockstar is never easy. When Val Kilmer portrayed the Doors frontman, Jim Morrison, he went on a musical journey and learned all about Morrison’s song. Seems reasonable. He then went on to learn 50 of the singer’s songs. Unfortunately only 15 made it into the final cut.
No wonder he earned himself the name “Jim” on set. He really deserved it.
Joaquin Phoenix – I’m Still Here
When portraying Freddie Quell in the film "I’m Still Here", Joaquin Phoenix really channeled the crazy. Apparently, it's something you just have to do when playing an actor who is going out of control. And no one knows that better than the insane actor himself.
Phoenix even made an appearance on David Letterman completely in character. The interview ended up being really confusing and a little hard to watch after a while.
Nicolas Cage – Ghost Rider
Apparently, Nic Cage's co-stars were pretty afraid of him during the filming of "Ghost Rider ." Portraying the character Johnny Blaze, the actor refused to speak to the other actors between takes, he donned Egyptian symbols to invoke spirits and wore make-up to try to make him look like a corpse.
The whole thing kind of freaked everyone out, making them pretty much stay away from him. We don't blame things. Funnily enough, the actor doesn't even claim to be that much of a fan of the franchise, but clearly, something spoke to him.
Jared Leto – Suicide Squad
After watching Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger portray one of pop culture's most iconic characters, Jarred Leto was determined to do as good of a job as possible! His preparations were intense and involved him sending weird gifts to his co-stars. The Joker, ahem, Leto, sent Margot Robbie disturbing love letters and a dead rat. Will Smith who played Deadshot was lucky enough to receive bullets in the mail. Nice.
Apparently, therapists had to show up on set to help the actor get through the role as his sanity was beginning to be questioned. Unfortunately for him, Jaoquin Phoenix blew that all out of the park a couple of years later with his version of the Joker.
Daniel Day-Lewis – My Left Foot
Regarded as one of the greatest actors of our time, Daniel Day-Lewis went off the rails in the film "My Left Foot." In the film, he played a disabled hunchback. During the duration of filming, the actor remained in that position, leaving him with two broken ribs by the end of the production.
The Lincoln actor was practically in a state of self-imposed handicap, refusing to come out of character. The crew even had to spoon-feed him.