A Dublin actor is considering having his front teeth removed to play the part of artist Vincent Van Gogh.

Stuart Dunne, whom TV audiences may remember as Billy Meehan in RTE soap Fair City, believes that for an actor to immerse themselves in a role, they should take on every aspect of their character, even down to their gap-toothed mouth.

"I have been thinking very strongly about having my front teeth removed. Vincent had a big problem speaking and eating because of his teeth. How can I play him if I have a nice set of teeth? They need a bit of work anyway," he said.

Dunne, 47, is taking on the part for a project based on method acting called 'Vincent: Questioning the Method', taking place in Portlaoise from 20 May as part of the town's arts festival. Dunne will attempt to create a painting on each of the 70 days. It will also be filmed as a documentary.

"This could be the most difficult part because painting is an exhausting process; you could be 18 or 24 hours at it. Van Gogh himself managed 89 paintings in his last 70 days," said Dunne.

The actor's attempts to get under the skin of Van Gogh even stretch as far as replicating the artist's diet.

"He drank a lot of black coffee and some cheese. I'm going to try and eat the same food Van Gogh would have at and the same amount."

However it's the emotional aspect of taking on the part of Vincent Van Gogh, who famously cut off his own ear, which Dunne says he fears most.

"I've spoken to psychologists about it and it's a very dangerous thing to do. It's because of something which is known as the negative feedback loop. When you get up in the morning you have a pattern which dictates your goals and what you are going to do that day. I'm going to change that pattern as well as my living circumstances. For instance, I won't have any contact whatsoever with my wife Geraldine or son Neil for these three months."