Actor Andrew Garfield made headlines for his extreme method acting process for the 2016 Martin Scorsese film Silence.

In the movie, Garfield played a Jesuit priest and underwent some intense practices to get into character.

He remained celibate for six months and fasted until he began losing weight.

Garfield defended his process in a recent interview, saying, “People are still acting in that way, and it’s not about being an asshole to everyone on set.

It’s actually just about living truthfully under imagined circumstances, and being really nice to the crew simultaneously, and being a normal human being, and being able to drop it when you need to and staying in it when you want to stay in it.”

Garfield is best known for his role as Spider-Man in the two Amazing Spider-Man films, as well as last year’s Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Silence was his first collaboration with Scorsese, and it is widely regarded as the role that first got him noticed as a serious actor by critics.

In a recent interview on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast, Garfield discussed his preparation for the role.

He revealed that he would starve himself of food and sex for long periods of time to prepare for the character.

“It was very cool, man. I had some pretty wild, trippy experiences from starving myself of sex and food at that time,” he said.

Silence is a historical drama that follows two 17th-century Jesuit priests who travel from Portugal to Edo-era Japan to locate their missing mentor and spread Catholic Christianity.

The film also stars Adam Driver, Liam Neeson, Tadanobu Asano, and Ciarán Hinds.

Garfield’s extreme method acting process is not without precedent.

Many actors have undergone intense physical and emotional transformations to prepare for their roles.

Christian Bale famously lost over 60 pounds to play an emaciated insomniac in The Machinist, while Jared Leto gained over 60 pounds to play John Lennon’s killer, Mark David Chapman, in Chapter 27.

However, some critics argue that such extreme methods are unnecessary and can even be harmful.

In a 2013 article for The Guardian, actor Mark Rylance wrote that he had abandoned method acting after realizing that it had become “a hindrance rather than a help” to his work.

Garfield, on the other hand, seems to have found success with his process.

His performance in Silence was praised by critics, with The Hollywood Reporter calling it “a career-best performance.” Garfield was also nominated for a BAFTA Award for his role in the film.

Despite the critical acclaim, Garfield has said that he is taking a break from acting.

In a recent interview with Variety, he revealed that he is focusing on his mental health and taking time to reflect on his career.

“I think I just need a little break from myself, let alone the business,” he said.

In the meantime, fans can look forward to seeing Garfield in the upcoming films The Eyes of Tammy Faye and Mainstream.

The former is a biopic about televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker, while the latter is a satirical comedy about social media influencers.

Regardless of what roles he takes on in the future, it is clear that Garfield is a dedicated actor who is willing to go to great lengths to bring his characters to life on screen.