Hollywood has ruined method acting according to The Atlantic’s Angelica Jade Bastien, who points to Jared Leto’s performance as The Joker in Suicide Squad as being the final death knell. Long held as the key tool at an actor’s disposal in the 20th and 21st century to embody the character, bring it to life and win critical acclaim, method acting has now become a gimmick to promote a movie and generate critical buzz before awards season. The “method” — as taught by Lee Strasberg — gave us some of the most memorable roles by some of the best actors of the time: from Marlon Brando to DeNiro and, more recently, Daniel Day-Lewis. The latter was famous for staying in character off set, insisting that he be addressed as the character, an approach that translated into a record three best actor Oscar wins. Leto’s version of the Joker — coming off the back of Heath Ledger’s legendary portrayal — was underwhelming by comparison. According to interviews with costars, his method acting involved watching a lot of violent videos and sending his co-stars rats. The results have apparently contributed to the dismal critical reviews of Suicide Squad. Bastien holds the view that the technique (awesomely parodied in 2008’s Tropic Thunder) will no longer be seen as a vital prerequisite to acclaim. To quote Robert Downey Jr.’s character in Tropic Thunder (the character underwent pigment reassignment surgery to portray an African-American): “never go full retard” (runtime: 2:42). Leto apparently did, and in the process, ruined an almost-century-old method for everybody.