In a high stakes industry such as Hollywood, there are various means by which individuals seek to showcase the best version of what is needed andmethod acting is one of those. Method acting is wide-ranging set of techniques used by the actor to deliver profund and expressive performances when playing a character. For his latest project,Joel Kinnaman, who is cast inJohn Woo’s upcoming action thrillerSilent Night,decided to give it a try.The actor attempted to grow through filming the thriller without speaking.
Silent Night, which is set against the backdrop of the Christmas season, isa dialogue-free filmfor his character, and as such Kinnaman attempted to remain silent throughout – both on and off set. Speaking during anappearance onThe Tonight Showwith Jimmy Fallon, theFor All Mankindactor revealed how his first attempt at method acting unfolded. “I’ve never really done like a method acting process like that,” Kinnaman explained. “I’m gonna go full method on this one, so I talked to [my fiancé] Kelly, I was like, ‘Listen, this is going to be a tough one for our relationship. I’m not going to talk for our whole shoot, and I’m not going to talk with you either, so we’re not going to have any communication.'”
Despite initial resistance, Kelly eventually agrees to cease communication with the actor. However, it wasn’t long after thatKinnaman recognizes the error of his ways. “Then, the first day of shooting starts. I get in the car… it’s super quiet. The whole car ride to set,” Kinnaman explained. “Then I get into the makeup trailer, and everyone was, like, hanging out and talking. And I’m sitting there in the makeup trailer, and I’m looking at the people that are talking, and I’m sitting there, and I’m like, ‘If I’m not talking for six weeks, it’s going to be six weeks where I don’t talk.’ So, then I just started talking. But,I had a really, really intense silent car ride to set, and I felt like that was basically the whole thing, so that kind of charged me up with enough silence that I needed for the rest of the shoot.”
When Does ‘Silent Night’ Arrive in Theaters?
WhenSilent Nightreleases in theaters onDecember 1, 2023,it will follow a tormented father whose young son is caught in a gang’s crossfire on Christmas Eve, sending him into a world of grief from which he will emerge with the sole mission ofexerting vengeanceon those who wrecked his world. Since directingPaycheckin 2003 starringBen Affleck,Silent Nightwill be Woo’s first American film in that time. Woo’s return is highly anticipated in many quarters withKinnaman equally looking forward to it, “It was a great challenge, and I was very excited that he wanted to do it with me.”
Ahead of its release on August 21, 2025,here’s everything you need to know aboutSilent Night.
Silent Night
A grieving father enacts his long-awaited revenge against a ruthless gang on Christmas Eve.
