India, Dec. 6 -- Billy Crudup has played complicated men for nearly three decades, but the actor admits he rarely works in the full Method style. So when Noah Baumbach's Jay Kelly required a breakdown in the middle of a bar - tears rolling as he read the words "truffle parmesan fries" - he had to dig into techniques he had avoided since drama school.

While talking to The Independent, the actor said, "It turns out re-traumatising yourself works." The scene shows Crudup's character, Timothy, a therapist who never "made it" as an actor, performing for George Clooney, a fading movie star.

Crudup says he needed genuine pain to make the moment crack open, even though he has long believed spontaneity beats immersion.

His issue with Method act...