The Problem of Method Acting
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This video's alternate title is: Attack of the Theatre Nerd (me)
Ellie Ellwand's website: www.ellieellwa...
Ellie's Instagram: / ellie.ellwand
Set Design by Hannah Raine
Citations:
Ayer quote about Leto
uk.movies.yaho...
Balcerzak, Scott. Beyond Method: Stella Adler and the Male Actor, Wayne State University Press (2018).
web-b-ebscohos...
Bale “sissy” interview
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Baron, Cynthia and Sharon Marie Carnicke. Reframing Screen Performance, University of Michigan Press (2008).
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Bastién, Jade Angelica, “Hollywood Has Ruined Method Acting,” The Atlantic (2016).
www.theatlanti...
Benedetti, Jean. Stanislavski : An Introduction, Revised and Updated. Taylor & Francis Group (2004).
ebookcentral-p...
Bertolucci “realistic” quote
www.ansa.it/we...
Bosworth, Patricia. “The Mentor and the Movie Star” Vanity Fair (2003)
www.vanityfair...
Camus, Albert. The Myth of Sisyphus. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group (2018).
Conroy, Marianne. “Acting Out: Method Acting, the National Culture, and the Middlebrow Disposition in Cold War America” Criticism (1993) 35 (2): 239-263.
www-jstor-org....
Harrop, John. Acting, Taylor & Francis Group (2004).
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Hollinger, Karen. The Actress: Hollywood Acting and the Female Star, Routledge (2006).
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Malague, Rosemary. An Actress Prepares: Women and “the Method” Taylor & Francis (2013).
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Oldman’s ‘pain bag’ interview
www.gq.com/sto...
Plato’s Ion
classics.mit.ed...
Schulman, Michael. “How Meryl Streep Battled Dustin Hoffman, Retooled Her Role, and Won Her First Oscar.” Vanity Fair, (2016).
www.vanityfair...
Walsh Jenkins, Linda and Susan Ogden-Malouf. “The Female Actor Prepares” Theatre (1985) 17 (1): 66-69.
watermark.silv...
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Oop one correction: my recollection of the story about Leo, Kerry Washington, and the blood deceived me! Leo did not wipe his own blood on her face. One commenter, @Ishtar Rozas Merlo, has done the work of finding an article that says:
"When Leonardo DiCaprio's character Calvin Candie smashes his hand on the dinner table, the actor accidentally crushed a small stemmed glass with his palm and really began to bleed. DiCaprio ignored it, stayed in character, and continued with the scene. Tarantino was so impressed that he used this take in the final print, and when he called cut, the room erupted in a standing ovation. DiCaprio's hand was bandaged and he suggested the idea of smearing blood onto the face of Kerry Washington. Tarantino and Washington both liked this, so Tarantino got some fake blood together."
Sorry Leo!
Oh thank goodness!
Thank you for pinning this - accidentally cutting yourself when overly in character is one thing. Wiping that blood non-consensually on another person's face would make him look really bad... but he never did that. However, him groping Claire Danes in a situation where she clearly couldn't escape and was socially expected to take it as a joke and play along was not a pleasant moment to watch. Other than this one mistake, this was a fantastic video, and thank you for making it. I've been in the film industry myself for many years at all levels of Hollywood and have seen extreme toxic masculinity and pressures of "lesser" cast and crew to put up with spoiled idiots and treat them as if they are tortured geniuses who must be revered. The same also applies to abusive directors and producers in the name of "art", and it happens more than you might think.
There are quite a few major films and tv shows that I've been so disgusted with the behaviour that was tolerated that I vowed never to work with the team again and asked to even remove my name from the credits as I didn't want to be associated with them. Theres also a fairly long list of actors and other professionals that I decided never to work with again, and a good percentage of those was people trying to get away with pretty rough behaviour because "its what my character would do" or "its just how everyone in the industry is, don't be so sensitive". I don't want to help people like that make money, even if it damages my career in the meantime. It gives me some peace that certain people that everyone in the industry has known about for years are finally getting called out for their behaviour (or are being quietly "retired") but it saddens me that for some of them, it took decades. (and for anyone about to say "if everyone knows why don't they say anything" - its extremely easy to get blacklisted as lots of these people are very powerful, some even dangerous with heavy criminal connections. But also, on the rare occasion when things were so ridiculous that I or a colleague of mine reported things to execs, the media, or even the police, we were essentially told to shut our mouths, for our own good, and that nothing would ever be done about it. All female colleagues of mine, actors, models, singers, who get signed to a major agency are without fail given talks about certain infamous people to be careful around - you can't avoid working with them if you want to make it to the top, but don't ever be alone with them, unless your planned career path is "sleep your way to the top", which absolutely happens, of course, but exaserbates the problem of entitled men thinking they are irresistable and untouchable).
Back on subject, from what I've seen, over many years, "method" acting is used only by already successful and powerful white men as an excuse to act like spoiled children. Its always been my experience that the best actors can turn it on and off and give a amazing performance when cameras are running, and as soon as "cut" is called, they are smiling, laughing, asking if everyone else is ok etc. That shows actual skill and also that you are a decent human being who realises that everyone on set is contributing to make the final product, and its not all about "you". But then again, I've only ever starred in or produced B movies no-one has seen and basically been a glorified extra or SA casting agent on Hollywood stuff. So what do I know? My conscience could win an Oscar though, and I sleep easy.
@@PixelsLtd Was it Claire Danes or was it Amber Benson in Don’s Plum? Sorry, not trying to nitpick I’m just trying to clarify for myself.
@@kileyeileen 100% definitely Claire Danes - its behind the scenes footage of the special tank made to shoot the shots where they are under the water in the pool scene after jumping off the balcony. Famously Danes hated DiCaprio at the time, referring to him as immature, arrogant, and pulling unfunny pranks. DiCaprio in turn described her as stuck up and taking everything too seriously. Reading between the lines from the behind the scenes and interview footage available online, it seems to me that "arrogance, immaturity and pranks" translates to "kept trying to sleep with me", and "stuck up and too serious" means "wouldn't sleep with me". I've no experience of DiCaprio whatsoever but I do know someone (older) who has been in his team and around him since Gilbert Grape, to this day. She speaks very highly of him, but does describe him in this period as assuming that every woman in the world wanted to sleep with him, and acting as such in sometimes uncomfortable or inappropriate ways, though she also specified that to be fair, 9 times out of 10 he was correct and his advances got the desired result, as he was so unrealistically put on a pedastal. I imagine that nowadays he is far less of a jerk. Certainly, I wouldn't want someone judging me now (I'm 39) on my behiour as a teenager. Side note, I'm assuming as you mentioned "Don's Plum" you are aware, but for anyone else reading this doubting how bad his behaviour was during this period, just google "Pussy Posse" and watch Don's Plumb baring in mind that he tried to ban its release fearing that too many of his adlibs and improvisations revealed his and Toby Maguire's true behaviour IRL. But before you judge Maguire and DiCaprio too harshly, perhaps also watch "An Open Secret" or Google the people who "discovered" both young actors and how they won their first big jobs in Hollywood - its a very sad and unpleasant rabbit hole to go down, with no real winners.
Though he was clearly problematic at the time, I can put a lot of it down to immaturity and not knowing how to react to being over sexualised and objectified at a very young age (not to mention any of the stuff I eluded to above). I see the same behaviour regularly (sometimes in person) in male Disney/Nick stars and teen popstars/boyband members. Thankfully at some point most of them mature and apologise and realise its not a good way to be. Of course, young teen female stars go through exactly the same problems of hyper sexualisation very young, but it usually affects them in other ways and we see those car crashes play out more publically, often. The mixing of extremely arrogant horny boys and extremely anxious disturbed girls means that often the drama behind the scenes of teen shows and film are all kinds of messy and much money goes to covering up the stories and making it all look innocent/sweet/romantic. Its one of many ways the industry needs to drastically change and young stars need more emotional councelling, support, therapists both before filming, on set, and aftercare, so they become well rounded human beings despite a very "hyper real" upbringing before they are fully emotionally mature. I hate how a lot of the companies just see the actors as props and the movie/show the finished product, with no real aftercare or thought to the wellbeing of the youngsters involved. I'm glad to see people like Alyson Stoner, Jennette McCurdy, Demi Lovato and Drew Barrymore speaking out proactively about positive changes that can and should be made, and I'm hopeful things are starting to change as people become more aware and its more difficult for things to be covered up in the age of social media and metoo.
@@PixelsLtd My brother worked around him fairly closely with him during the reverent and said he was really kind, fairly shy, quiet and professional while also saying he is hilarious when he's comfortable, great fun and not afraid to get down and dirty. I know at least one he was invited to take a weekend trip on his private jet at least once too.
He's meet his fair share of celebrities and has harsh words for a fair few of them, definitely a culture that takes some getting use too.
I'm honestly glad the revenant got a bunch of praise purely for the fact that so many people were dealing with such harsh elements to make the film.
I went to a very abusive theatre school that was all Strasburg all the time, and I will never forget how, in the first month or so, we had to dig up traumatic memories to turn into short scenes... and I got a C on the project because I didn’t have a compelling enough trauma to parade in front of my classmates.
what does "all Strasburg all the time"?
I'm so sorry you won't through that, all trauma is valid, it's absolutely horrible they did that.
@@user-vu2yb1gy4l Meaning they focused exclusively on the "Method" and specifically emotional recall and using past trauma to influence your acting choices. They briefly brought up other acting schools, like Meisner, but only in so far as to say "Oh this is another school, some people like it, but Strasburg is better and here's why."
Anyway, yeah, it was horrific. Bunch of fresh-faced eighteen year olds being asked to relive their darkest and most personal tragedies in front of their classmates, who they just met, literal weeks after moving away from their parents for the first time.
To say it was psychologically damaging is an understatement, and I honestly got off easy BECAUSE I did so badly on the assignment. The kids who did well were the ones who had the rawest emotions... so you can draw your own conclusions as to what types of scenes got As...
There's a great spoof of this tendency in Community. Donald Glover's character Troy is so desperate not to be left out of the trauma party in his acting class that he hurriedly blurts out that his uncle put his finger in his butt. Later he admits his deception and the pretentious teacher says it's OK because in the honesty of this confession he is now, at last, truly acting. And he adds, 'And this is terrible writing, but that doesn't matter because we are actors, not writers.'
@@JohnMoseley That episode actually came out while I was a freshman in college and it was so accurate it hurt! It’s actually my go to whenever anyone asks me what studying acting was like.
Omg same! The teacher would made us do "presentations" where basically we would talk a bit about our lives but then she would star making questions Freud style trying to get as personal as possible and digging into traumas till we ended up super vulnerable and crying in front of everyone, with all of the light off except for one that was just directed towards the one presenting. The more I think about the dinamics there the more toxic I realise those were.
“Acting is not therapy” - literally the first thing my teacher said in my first acting methods class in college.
lmao fair enough, personally it really helped me, especially Stanislavsky
I agree, though I do think it can help you learn new things about yourself.
Maybe in and of itself is not therapy, but acting can be therapeutic.
Jodie Comer said that acting is her free therapy
@@kimberlylorenzo2486 and it shows through her half-assed performances
“I always say about people who do method acting, you only ever see people do the method when they’re playing an assholes” Robert Pattinson
Omg I love Robert Pattinson. What a legend.
This was his response after doing the Method for The Lighthouse (2019) which caused him to contemplate attacking his director. It really does take a toll on you.
Harvey Keitel did metho acting for his role in Taxi Driver. What he did was, go to a street and talk to an actual pimp. That was it, method acting =/= being an asshole to the cast and crew.
@@luismarioguerrerosanchez4747 DeNiro was driving a Taxi for a month to get into the mindset. I don't think he acted weird on camera but I guess that's was it.
Like Jared Leto. He's also been an asshole. Then when he played Joker he went to town and called it 'method acting'.
The TV series "Barry" has a really interesting depiction of method acting in it that really addresses the narcissism of it. All of Barry's classmates, despite being subpar actors, have this slavish devotion to exposing trauma and using it to fuel their acting, but Barry is uncomfortable with that despite being the darkest person among them (hitman). And there's this incredible scene where one of his classmates basically Dustin Hoffman's him to get a more violent performance out of him while he just gets more and more upset, while his teacher encourages it as "accessing the roots of his acting ability". Bill Hader plays it so fucking well that it's almost traumatic to watch.
Bill Hader really cemented himself as an amazing actor, regardless of genre with Barry
@@highdeaf5409I’m still thinking about it almost a year after it’s ended, such a great show
Ugh such an amazing show, thank you for mentioning it!
CW: suicide
In 2019 I was in a scene study class where I was playing Jessie from the play 'Night Mother. At the beginning of the play, Jessie tells her mother that she will kill herself that night, and at the end of the play (and what I was working on) does. Having been hospitalized after a suicide attempt 3 years earlier, tapping into those emotions was the last thing I wanted to do. So I didn't. I used my experience as a point of reference and understanding, sure, but I made sure to build the character by working from the text and making each moment specific and engaged, both of which gave me a lot of control over the performance. And then I got a good night's sleep and had a full breakfast and my scene partner and I knocked it out of the park.
Point is, you can absolutely do S tier acting without ruining yourself and please for your own sake avoid traumatizing yourself as much as possible.
That’s actually so rad
That's wonderful. 'Night Mother is possbily the only piece of media I've ever experienced that made me break down sobbing loudly and uncontrollably in public, due to my own experiences with suicidal thoughts and difficult conversations with my mother. I'm glad that art can exist, and doubly glad it can exist without sacrificing the people who work to make it.
It just occurred to me that I don't think I've heard of a method actor who prepared for their role by immersing themselves in joy and fun. It's always some kind of self-torture.
Right? Which is funny because I'm sure in life, we face more adversities than fortunes so if anything the former requires more training to act out
no it's always the torture that gets the coverage. When Daniel Day said he enjoyed learning this one craft or doing this one thing those never made into the top ten lists
@@acriticwithoutacause8983 You have a point, I concede. I forgot the media's cannibalism of entertainment
this is going in my acting journal
thanks
Joy and fun don't tend to make for compelling stories. Everyone has a dark side. Life is painful. Conflict is what shapes character. Generally, any film that warrants that kind of dedication to the role will be a serious story that involves serious conflict.
"Have you tried acting?" is such an iconic roast, i love it
It's called "acting", also said by Hitchcock to Tippi Hedren when she couldn't pose as frigid next to Sean Connery...
@@pdzombie1906
I’ll give Tippi the benefit of doubt, the amount of verbal abuse, sabotaging her career, and attempted sexual assaults that Hitchcock gave her was probably already terrifying enough.
@@cremetangerine82 Also, Sean Connery...
I'm a retired actress, I come from a family of actors and studied at the RADA. Method acting is okay if it doesn't go too far. What I don't like is this idea that you take your part home with you. If we play enemies on stage or camera we should be enemies off screen for as long as the production lasts.
I was in a play with a German actor who was also my lover at the time. I was playing a Jewish woman, he was playing my Nazi tormentor.
We played that shame, violence and agitation on stage four nights a week. Still we'd go home and be in love. Hate on stage, love at home.
You must feel your part on stage or screen, but leave it there.
I teach acting classes. My number one advice is be like a child.
Lillian Gish said it right:- "If you don't have the imagination to play the part, you have no business being an actor."
@@cremetangerine82 exactly--it's EASIER. people shouldnt be celebrated for taking the easy way out.
“My dear boy, why don’t you try just acting? It’s so much easier.”
God I love that quote so much, Sir Laurence Olivier was so classy
Supposedly, Hoffman later denied he was going to method extremes for the role, saying it was more just that he was partying too hard at the time, meaning he looked worn out on set.
An iconic moment
@@JohnMoseley The remark was taken out of context, according to the director of the film. It wasn't the put down everyone imagines it was.
@@davidlean1060 But it seems people love a good putdown too much to let go of the idea that that's what it was.
I watched a video by Sideways recently (great youtuber who talks about film music) about the horrid methods during the filming of Les Misérables. He talked about how some actors were deliberately dehydrated before their vocal performances to create a more "tortured" or "rough" sound, sometimes repeating scenes for hours without hydration. This can permanently damage an actors vocal chords. The worst part is is that such a sound is not even that difficult to replicate with some consistent vocal coaching but the director was too enamored by the idea of the suffering artist/actor to go for a much more abusive and destructive route over a pragmatic one.
Tom Hooper has much to answer for. That man should not direct musicals.
that man should not direct *anything*
So much suffering for making a movie. Almost as much suffering as for the audience who later watched the movie. 😄
@@TheSongwritingCat. After seeing what he did to cats, i'm certain that man is unworthy to direct even a parade!
@@IsaacMayerCreativeWorks. Yeah, if anything, cats just proved he, and method acting in general is bad!
You know, it’s funny: you always hear about method actors when they’re being awful. But Henry Cavill is also a method actor, and I’ve never heard one complaint about him .
Evidently when filming the Witcher, he was in character is Geralt the whole time. And nobody ever knew. Because he just spent the whole time talking to nobody and petting his horse .
That's my only problem with this video. It seems to only take into consideration the extremes of method acting.
Yeah. The problem is not method acting. The problem is simply mistreating people and using “method acting” as an excuse. You don’t need to mistreat anyone to do your job well as an actor.
Because Henry Cavill can’t act his way out of being a truly lovely person…
Yeah but he’s also a huge fan of the games. So it wasn’t really that difficult for him to nail it.
@@dennyfader7559 same here, she briefly mentioned actors who employed method acting without resorting to depraved means, but rather focused on the male aspect instead of focusing on good examples and how to exemplify those more
If you can't do your job well without terrorising your coworkers, then maybe you should get a different job
I wholeheartedly agree, also your profile pic is ART
Yep. I still remember being shocked at how many people defended Jeffrey Tambor when it was revealed that he verbally abused Jessica Walter on the set of Arrested Development - people saying that if she couldn't handle it, she shouldn't be in the industry, and making all sorts of excuses for him, saying that acting is stressful. Why is it that when he was stressed, it was okay for him to take it out on a colleague, but when she was stressed, it wasn't even okay for her to mention it after the fact?
I agree with most your video but here's my question: " why can't we just accept that sometimes you're going to have shitty situations with people and as long as it's not a continuous everyday process or even every other day it sometimes people just have bad days?
@@jamesnetwall1193 these actors get celebrated for the shit they pull, movies and shows take months to shoot. It's not just a bad day.
@@pinkopat so the environment is toxic. Or are we claiming gadgets all men abusing women there aren't any instances of women using the method acting technique to be horrible to men? Rakish the environment in Hollywood to be addressed is too permissive
i hear the voice of paddington lives breaths and sleeps as the bear
pls i read this in michael cera’s voice bc of your profile picture lmao
Yes Ben whishaw is actually a bear in real life funnily enough, and paddington plays his roles in other films
yes, ben whishaw is such a remarkable actor, he looks so different in james bond as compared to paddington! couldn’t even recognise him
Haven't watched till the end yet, but the first thing that comes to mind is Jared Leto as the Joker.. Crazy how he send dead rats to his co-stars😂
I was thinking about same thing even before the video starts.
He was an asshole before he played the Joker, then when he was 'method acting' he went to town.
Jared leto is straight up another species of human
All of that crap he pulled and his version of the Joker ended up being considered the worst Joker of all time. Karma.
@kyndra i see you repeat this comment over and over. Do you know him personally?
PS. Guys, it was not a dead rat. It is very much alive and lives will Guillermo del Toro.
During rehearsal, my arm was broken into pieces by another actor who had contempt for fight choreography and did a spontaneous move "in the moment". In another incident, an actor shoved his tongue in my mouth, saying he had done so because he was so "in the moment". I don't think Stanivslasksi intended for actors to be so stupid. Unfortunately, segments of American theatre culture have developed a sort of masochistic/sadistic approach and called it "method" acting.
What Omari Hardwick said was so true though. “You never go method until you have the leverage to go fully method.” It’s all about privilege, in the end. Method can be helped. Acting is acting. Like what Viola Davis said. Going method seems to be solely for people who can allow themselves the embarrassment or bewilderment to do so. When you know no director in their right mind would give you up, you go method. It’s all about power.
we as a society really hate joy huh
and women -_-
@@porcupineangel6632 and joyful women
Being joyful can’t make money, solving pain definitely can
@@porcupineangel6632 I love
@@porcupineangel6632 and men
my takeaway from this is that men use the method as an excuse not to shower while filming
truly stinky!
Wow so im a method actor already!
and to be a total asshole
@@sodapop81 jared leto sending weird shit to his costars in the name of art
what if the real e-girls were the male method actors we found along the way
Tricking actors/actresses to get „authentic“ reactions is the worst. I don’t want to watch someone actually being harassed or hurt or in any emotional distress. It makes me feel awful afterwards. It defies the whole purpose of acting anyways.
I think consent is the key here. Malcolm McDowell putting himself into so much hassle in A Clockwork Orange is honestly impressive and makes me admire him so much as a committed actor, but Kubrick abusing Shelley Duvall on the set of The Shinning is frankly disgusting just in the grounds that it was clearly against her will and she has been emotionally damaged ever since.
not just that the authentic reactions don't always work. Sometimes I felt a scene was out of place and letter found out it was an authentic reaction the director was proud of that he could capture, blind to the problem that the actor looks like reacting to something else entirely.
Yeah, you're going to be upset about The Shining. So horrible.
Kubrick would like to know your location
Honestly, method acting seems a lot more trouble than it's worth.
I had seen a review of The Exorcist where it was stated that the director fired a gun next to the guy that played Father Damien just so he could get that reaction with the phone ringing. It's really awful.
Poor Shelly Duvall. My favorite role by her is Olive Oil from Popeye with Robin Williams. Such a classy lady. I sincerely hope she can find some recovery and peace.
for real - it's called "acting" - not "being" . This is why i still respect Daniel Day Lewis - he's always emphatically stated that he doesn't believe himself to be a "good actor" by virtue of the fact that he's only able to perform his parts by completely immersing himself in and believing that he is the character. he understands that this is not healthy and I respect that he's put self-limitations on how often and how long he planned to do it.
Ah that actually does make me respect him a bit more. I've definitely disliked him so far bc of how annoying his fans can be, but now that you mention it, he really does try to generally stay out of the limelight
This is why I love Mads Mikkelson as an actor. He’s got a few great interviews about his “method” and is very healthy minded about it and wants to leave the character as soon as he’s finished with his days work. He’s given stellar performances without all that self absorbed angst. I haven’t really hated any performances that were based on method acting, but certainly don’t feel like it makes anything “special”. I love that quote she mentioned “darling have you tried acting” 😂
I mean with some of his roles we can only thank god he doesnt subscribe to the method 💀
Honestly, I think a lot of method stuff is just unnecessary. Someone on the level of Marlon Brando would have given great performances without being a jerkoff to his colleagues.
Also yes, Mikkelsen is a really good actor. His Hannibal way surpassed Anthony Hopkins's portrayal, and that is no small feat for sure. My personal favorite of his movies is Druk, in which he plays the lead, it is a very melancholic movie, but they even made use of his background in dance, which was very cool to see.
@@filterjoon *cough cough* Hannibal
" You don't have to suffer to portray suffering " - David Lynch
I wasn't poor and I don't plan to be and I can still play the blues. Miles Davis (not exact words, but along the lines)
@@hermask815 the blues isn’t about being poor. Just cause a lot of blues musicians were poor didn’t mean they were solely basing it on being poor. It’s a culmination of the various depressing circumstances they they have gone through or were forced to go through
@@elindio9884 It's also about black life in the United States at the time, however the early blues singers often did write about poverty and jail. At it's core though, it's a style of music that you can learn from tons of listening and practice.
whenever an actor tells me they want to go method I take that as a red flag... in my most recent acting class my prof informed us on the dangers of method acting. so i'm glad professionals arent pushing young actors to partake in this "technique"
Love your videos, Madisyn. Didn't know you were in acting class! Best of luck with it; you have a very nice presence.
I love your videos
Maybe that’s why young actors have declined so much in quality.
@@piranha5506 😭😭
then sadly your prof knows nothing about method acting. There are no dangers in the method.
LOVED this. Yeah there's just something inherently selfish about the Method, right? It kinda blows my mind that I know I've seen The Machinist at least twice, and the only thing I remember about Christian Bale's character is that he was really really skinny, because that's what all the discussion about the film revolved around. The preparation for the role upstaged the performance itself.
that's weird because i actually enjoyed the movie
imagine that
i would say heath ledgers delve into the joker certainly wasn't selfish, as he basically sacrificed his life to create one of the most outstanding performances i have personally ever seen.
lastly idk why but how come every youtube channel has to remind me about the tyranny of the 'straight white male'?
@@malachistice8111 ur insecurity is showing
@@eyeamstrongest how do u figure, randy?
@@malachistice8111 that’s because it’s relevant to the topic at hand. Maybe pay attention to the video.
@@arosenthal3318 its just the algrythm, or the zeitgeist
I'm so glad I got to see this video in the context of the recent profile on Jeremy Strong and his method acting for his character in Succession. My favorite part of the profile was a quote where Brian Cox said something along the lines of "It's an American disease, the inability to separate oneself from their work."
Lovely insight
Yes, over the years I've come to really appreciate British actors and this is one of the reasons. I also think that the breadth of stage acting as a starting point over there is a big part of this.
As someone who watches the show, Strong’s character, Kendall Roy makes for an interesting character analysis, but is an insufferable character to others in the show. Can’t imagine constantly being around a personality like that, but it makes a lot of sense why the scenes of Kendall’s mental breakdowns felt so real.
Brian Cox doing a Lawrence Olivier.
I went to an art school for painting, and one of my favorite things one of my professors said was “it’s a lie that you have to be a starving, tortured artist to be a good one.” And I think so many artists (of any kind) believe that they have to have something go wrong or feel wrong in order to hone it into their craft and to be more “meaningful”. If we truly believe that there is beauty in everything, then why can’t ordinary moments be just as cathartic as the mountain top and the valley ones?
As a current student in painting... THANK YOU! I always hear so much crap about art and how it needs to be made by sad, tortured souls and blah blah blah. Fuck all that shit
Angelina Jolie made use of method acting in her role as Lisa Rowe in Girl, Interrupted (1999). No wonder they didn't like her behind the scenes
Coolness, I never realised this, no wonder her acting seemed so convincing, and earned her an Oscar!
@@trinaq exactly
@@trinaq Trina I have seen you on every other video I’ve ever watched how to we have the same recommended page
@@sepiteria7797 Haha, I get that A LOT! Great minds certainly think alike, right?! 😉
“I remember thinking, ‘Oh, we’re going to turn out to be great friends.’ But I think she needed to be able to look at me just as the character Susanna, not as Winona. So in a very respectful way, she just kind of kept her distance.” - Winona Ryder (talking about Angelina)
almost on the method acting list: ewan mcgregor nearly shot heroin for the role of mark renton in trainspotting. which is just... really dumb and dangerous.
Thank director Danny Boyle for telling him not to do it.
Instead he shot it just for recreational purposes.
If he truly wanted to do it then he would have lol
but also the only respectful way to play a junkie. otherwise your just playing dress up and have no place playing that part.
@@ryanlindauer7083 I agree, I also think that people who play corpses should have the strength of character to actually die. Livewashing erases the experiences of dead people. Did you know that dead people outnumber living people? And yet whenever we see a dead person on film, the part is either filled by a living actor merely pretending to be dead, or even worse, a prosthetic fake body. The disrespect is absolutely corrosive and completely unforgivable.
“it is absolute pretentious nonsense and highly amateurish. It is not professional.”
-Martin Freeman on method acting
Martin is such a great actor🙌🏻
Martin is really out there spitting facts
ah a fellow off menu listener
I heard that episode too. Martin Freeman seemed like a massive arsehole.
@Yeokay Robert lol
“Action!” Act. “Cut!” Stop acting. People who cannot perform without being practically possessed by the persona fail to act. Research, yes; rehearse, of course, but just because you are incapable of acting does not give you the right to torment everyone around you. Method acting is not something to aspire to.
Just wanted to say “The Madness behind the Method” is a v smart title.
Anthony Hopkins hates method acting. He said method actors are a pain in the ass to work with and has called the style a lot of crap. Among other things.
And fuck man, no hyperbole, I genuinely find Anthony Hopkins to be the greatest actor of all time. His work in The Father is absolutely mesmerising work.
I was going to post this about A. Hopkins on a separate post, but makes sense as a reply to yours. I once saw him in an interview and he was asked how much he felt he shared with Hannibal Lecter. As I remember, he was surprised and seemed borderline insulted that he had to clarify he shared little to nothing with a deranged cannibal killer, however intelligent he might be.
I dunno mate, Al Pacino is not a pain the ass, Marlon Brando on the other hand...
@@manwithnoname8229 This is a tasteless joke at best.
@@Bjjbhcoa86 yeah I agree
The irony is that perhaps one of the greatest examples of someone going method and what led to Leto and even Pheonix's antics when playing the Joker with Heath Ledger's performance wasn't actually method. He was able to turn it on and off as soon as Nolan yelled cut and we've known about that since the movie came out since the cast has been doing interviews saying so. Despite this somehow the internet creating a folk hero around him and the role and how he prepared even blaming his death on it despite the fact he filmed another movie after it and this seeped into the public consciousness so much that even the actors who would go on to play the Joker (and knew Heath) would believe it. The sad part is that it's actually more impressive that he didn't go full method for that role than if he had since I'd argue that is one of the farthest distances between a character and the actor as their normal self someone has been able to achieve so the fact he could turn it on and off and didn't need a long warm up time or to stay in character full time is crazy and shows how talented he was.
As a side note it shows how impressive all those actresses you showed are as well since they can turn it on and off as well for some amazing performances. It's what has always bugged me about putting method acting on a pedestal (aside from the stuff you covered) it's just not as impressive a feat of acting if you have to stay in character full time. Especially if you are talking with regards to handing out awards.
I agree with a lot of your points, but Phoenix didn’t go full method. He did his research on the laugh and other things, but said he didn’t need to go to this dark place when asked in interviews. Leto went way too far.
It tells you the immense pressure for an actor to take on the role of the Joker, arguably one of the most mesmerising, fascinating characters in literature, a great villain as well. It's quite understandable why expectations were soaring to perform well. That's perhaps one of the reasons Leto overdid it, along with the horrendous script he had to deal with.
I read somewhere that Heath was trying to adapt The Queen’s Gambit before he died because he identified really closely with the addiction aspect of the story; that’s also why he did the film Candy. He struggled with addiction for a long time, and it’s tragic that that’s overshadowed by this myth that’s grown up around his death.
These idol worshipers writing legends for their actors did the same thing with James Gandolfini. How he "died from the role of Tony Soprano". Despite the fact that he died 6 years after the show ended. And of a heart attack. Because his life style was terribly unhealthy.
That is full method. Method is Immersing yourself in the character and using personal recollection etc in your performance. This business of staying in character is just some actors taking it upon themselves to go that bit extra. If you study Strasberg will learn he didn't encourage actors to stay in character all the time. That has just been glorified and spread around like its what method acting is.
And that's why actors like Willem Dafoe, whom holds love for theatre and collaboration, often refering to himself as a tool to the author's vision, don't get enough love from audiences and, specially, from critics.
It also reminds me of 2015 Oscars, when Eddie Redmaine won the award, while my guts, 6 years later, still points at Michael Keaton. I also love that Birdman throws some really good punches at method actors (literally).
I still consider Michael Keaton losing to Eddie as one of the worst oscars upsets of the 2010s decade
Truth be told, I think this was the start of the general audience losing respect for the Oscars. The Oscars has this thing of trying to pander to the Brits every few years, most likely due to the majority of ritzy actors being Brits from storied families. It genuinely sucked when I saw Keaton be snubbed, I kinda teared up a bit and my heart sunk for him. He earned that. Redmaine isn't bad, but that was like comparing a lion to a cub, and the cub won.
@@AB-sm1qf My biggest problem with Redmaine is that, more than good acting, is good casting. He does remind Stephen Hawking, and I can praise his effort for trying to express feelings while being stuck in his body, but dammit, Keaton gives everything he got. Everything is on the screen, the manerisms, the way he likes to comunicate with his whole body (because you know, the character is actor, writer and director with some heavy ego problems), the eyes, the emotional connection with his real persona and still being so professional and excited to work (if back stories are relevant).
@James Leigh Yeah, I love the man. He is so passionate about his work and his characters. He is just happy to have a good time and help in the creation of these worlds, a man that truly loves and respects his job. Reminds me of Nic Cage in the lack of ego. If you watch something like Face Off, where John Travolta is trying to mimic Nic Cage's manic energy, he can't do it cause he has too much of an ego, while Nic Cage will do some crazy shit like Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance and Mandy.
Not to mention his work with some of the greatest directors of all time: Kathryn Bigelow Alan Parker, Martin Scorsese, Oliver Stone, David Lynch, Paul Schrader, Mary Harron, Sam Raimi, Wes Anderson, Robert Rodriguez, Lars Von Trier and Robert Eggers.
I knew it! I have zeeeero acting knowledge or experience but I've always suspected that "method acting" in the form of using old trauma to evoke emotions was totally unhealthy for actors and that actors should be protected and supported WAY more than they are. I don't know why, but ordinary people just freaking love watching people suffer. And that's one thing I just never ever ever was okay with. All people deserve safety and respect in all areas of life. PERIOD.
Dawg it's there choice
I have no idea if you or anyone is still reading comments, but I notice your critique predicated on the desire to self-mythologize in aim to otherwise compensate for a "sissy" career choice (a quote from Bale seemingly attributed to all male method actors?) is a one-sided depiction considering all the female actors who dove headfirst into the character to the expense of themselves or their co-stars.
You mentioned Portman in Black Swan as one, but there was also
Meryl Streep who was cold to her co-stars and sunk into depression for The Devil Wears Prada (despite her statement),
Anne Hathaway who went on a crash diet for Les Miserables (Christian Bale example)
Kate Winslet sought counselling after The Reader (Michael B. Jordan example) and isolated herself for Ammonite (Tom Hanks, Heath Ledger examples)
Jodie Foster doing FBI training for Silence of the Lambs (despite her statement)
Hilary Swank who gave herself a staph infection for Million Dollar Baby (Tom Hanks example)
Lupita Nyong'o (BIPOC) who wouldn't, at times, talk to her onscreen daughter on Us (Al Pacino example)
Margot Robbie herniating a disk (Leo DiCaprio example) and without prior agreement punched Sebastian Stan (who has decried method acting) for I Tonya (Edward Norton example)
Angelina Jolie who was combative and distant with her co-stars on Girl Interrupted (Tom Hanks example)
Nicole Kidman smoked a shitton of cigarettes for Being the Ricardos (Gary Oldman example) just to get the voice right
Halle Berry (BIPOC) who stopped bathing for Jungle Fever - (Daniel Day-Lewis, Tom Hanks and Shia LaBeouf examples)
Rooney Mara who received multiple piercings and lived in imposed isolation to be Lisbeth Salander (Heath Ledger example)
Lady Gaga allegedly not breaking character for eighteen months for House of Gucci (Daniel Day-Lewis example)
Zoe Kravitz (BIPOC) who, uh, drank milk from a dish and hung out with a bunch of cats for Batman (Nicolas Cage example?)
and everything Charlize Theron did for Monster being pretty self-evident. And she was raised, but Bale was used as an example too.
Among many other anecdotes.
None of those women were, as far as we know (and it seems unlikely), terrorized, coerced or browbeaten into their emotionality. Almost all those examples are also all, comparatively, pretty recent. Or at least much more so than the even more problematic days of Monroe, Duvall, Hedren, etc. Some are newer than this video.
And they're not women, but black actors such as Chadwick Boseman, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Donald Glover and David Oyelowo (on top of the mentioned Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, and Forrest Whittaker) and renowned Asian actors who don't work much in American/Anglo-centric cinema like Irrfan Khan and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai have done or identify as method actors. I suspect a big part of why method acting seems disproportionately white is because high-profile actors are disproportionately white, so there's a much bigger sample to take from. There have also been a large number of white male actors to not employ method acting. There are just a lot of white actors.
You can find method actors of all kinds; I don't think this is as gendered or race-related an issue as you present, at least not in the more modern era. But I do agree much of this probably stems from the actor's desire to "prove" their dedication to the character/role/craft and "validate" their performance, even when it goes well beyond what is necessary or, indeed, healthy or socially appropriate. Clearly a good deal of very accomplished, talented actors, regardless of sex or race, treat this as a right of passage even up to today. A lot start out thinking it's the path to being taken seriously or provide the best performance, and some reconsider down the line, while some don't.
It's a contemporary topic, gender unwrapping: therefore, it's presented. Nothing of relevancy is noted here besides modern POV. Once we unclothe the actor of his/her costume, we point toward their gender with pronouns and criticisms. Nothing said in this video will alter the viewer because the message here is already promulgated by her contemporaries. Gender acknowledgment is in the foreground, although any Western person of today should have common sense enough to not only understand these ideas, he/she will likely have greater philosophical concerns.
Honestly, I will never forgive how Shelly Duvall was treated during the filming of The Shining. Just... let her act. And if she can’t play the part convincingly, find an actress who can without literally abusing them
she is a fine actor! stanley kubrick is a dick
But didn't she say years later that she appreciated what she learned? I don't really see how she came to appreciate the abuse...
@@Bjjbhcoa86 because you can find lessons in the worst of experiences. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger and all that.
It doesn't mean you have to thank your abuser or see the experience as one you had to go through (ideally you wouldn't). But if the experience has a surprisingly positive side effect (like, for example, getting better at what your chosen profession), it's still a positive side effect.
@Tristin Castle dude, none of that is good. If the only way you can “get what you need” out of actors is to make their hair fall out from stress, give them stomach ulcers, or permanently damage their eyes, you’re not a good director. Also, just because she got paid for the movie doesn’t mean we can’t talk about how fucked up a lot of this is. That’s silly. I don’t know what point you’re trying to make here because none of this is a normal way that actors should be treated
@Tristin Castle I see what you’re trying to say, and I should clarify that just because I really dislike what went on behind the scenes and do consider it to be abusive doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy these movies or say that Kubrick movies are your favorite movies. What I think I should have made a bit more apparent is that when I say that actors shouldn’t be treated this way, I mean that as a rule going forward. We can’t change what happened in the past, and I’m sure that movies The Shining would have been much different otherwise. I’d just much rather avoid putting people in situations like these for the sake of art
I love the closing note -- that doing shit that psychologically damages yourself is not conducive to a long career in a hard industry; it's not a sprint, but a marathon. I think a lot of us, not just actors, can benefit from taking that kind of "show up and do the work" long haul mindset.
Thanks for this; really interesting & thoughtful stuff. 🧡
Great video, but I dislike this fabricated narrative about the way you assume men think. Many of your videos especially this one rationalize a point by assuming men think in a certain hyper masculine way. It's not a very healthy way of having discussion. Acting is not seen as a "sissy" role by most men. Think John Wayne and Clint Eastwood. These are examples of hyper masculine idols for decades who are actors. I agree with some points in your video, but you're bastardization and simplification of how you think men think is ignorant at best and sexist at worst. It would be like me saying that female athletes aren't as competitive because growing muscles infringes on their femininity.
"[method acting] is bullshit. what if it's a shit film - what do you think you achieved? am i impressed that you didn't drop character? you should've dropped it from the beginning! how do you prepare for a serial killer? you gonna spend two years 'checking it out'?"
- mads mikkelsen
I think Ms Lola made a great video on how women were often abused in the name of art as "muses" by male artists. It's honestly disgusting and people praise them for it.
It reminds me of Hannah Gadsby's points Abt Picasso at the end of her "Nannette" special. Men receive so much praise for destroying women in the pursuit of "artistic greatness," and method acting is just an extension of such an attitude
@@shanleenkinnjaskey2419 how the fuck is the pursuit of great art always associated with "destroying women" as it's implied here?
@@nategreen6525 it's not implied. The other way around, destroying women and saying it's for the artistic greatness. Doesn't mean every pursuit of great art is about destroying women. A rectangle isn't a square
@@CureSmileful how common is the examples here across art tho? Whats the equivalent of harassing a women in making a film for a reaction in say, music or visual arts such as painting or sculptures?
Looking at you Kubrik you colossal creep
I feel like method acting means you haven't mastered acting. Being able to turn it on and off is important.
I partially agree. However the best and most memorable acting performances of all time are method acting. It just gives the actors that extra bit of authenticity and energy that I have not yet seen in a non-method acting performance.
I am not an actor though. I am only someone who loves movies. So the only thing I can assess is the final result on screen and how it affects me
Thats not necessarily through. Its kinda impossible to be great in role without feeling immersed otherwise youre phoning it in. And u cant just switch your psyche, thats just impossible or unhealthy. But its true that actor should be thaught to release difficult roles they played so they dont have like second hand trauma
That is a untrue. Think of method acting as Rehearsal without a director. Acting is from the mind and you can get it from the outside or from the inside. Method acting letting the outside environment prepare your mind, it can get you the performance you need. Some does not want to do it and some dont need it. Turning it off and on never existed. The method actors you heard about are simply the most dedicated workers. Theatre actors like Ian Mckellen or Lawrence Oliver already practiced their craft through their weekly performance enough that they found it easier to switch on and off. While in film, the method actors clearly shine through, as they can get into the mindset easier via those practise.
Kinda disagree. Maybe not immediately turn it on and off, that's not very easy either. But there is a difference between "getting into character" and staying in character for wayy too long for no necessary reason
100%
I believe Forest Whitaker learning a new language is not method, is just research for a convincing acting, once he acted while speaking swahili. And about the pound gain, female actresses lose and gain weight for roles all the time and no one calls it method. Maybe I'm wrong, but method acting seems more like an excuse to be an asshole than an actual way to get a great performance. It's selfish and obnoxious. If you are really a good actor, you don't need to go that deep
I’d say just hire actors who already have the characteristics of the role! Like if the role is about a extremely skinny character! Why hire a healthy actor and then force them to lose weight in such a short timespan! Why not look for an actor/actress who’s body physique already matches the actor! That’s the problem directors hiring known actors who have nothing in common with the role they are hired for! Such as making them gain or lose extreme weight in such a short time! Wanting them to learn a language they barely know! It’s just this whole industry is werid
@@nagisa0931
Exactly. It's just plain stupid to put 50 pounds of makeup + a fatsuit on Christian Bale so he can play Dick Cheney. I'm sure there's plenty of good, older actors out there who resemble Cheney somewhat and can do that job just fine.
@@Itcouldbebunnies Don't worry about Bale. He's since said that after losing 70 pounds, he's done with the weight transformations for now. He said he could've worn a fat suit after learning what Gary Oldman did to look like Winston Churchill.
@@nagisa0931 Learning a language and/or dialect is difficult. I will defend Whittaker learning Swahili as it was part of the character to know Swahili. As for the weight gain, I agree with you. He could have just worn a fat suit.
@@rickardkaufman3988 your argument doesn’t even make sense! He could have worn a fat suit? That’s the whole problem
Real skill is being able to switch on and off during set. That’s professional acting
this is really interesting to me and reminds me of a class I took in college that revolves around the psychology of creativity. we learned about how creatives of all kinds were able to do their best work and the psychology behind what allowed them to do it. there was a section that discussed mental illness and trauma and whether or not it led to further creativity or if people were able to be the most creative when suffering mentally. although there was a correlation between creative people and mental illness there is no direct causation. in fact, it actually can be harder for those with mental illness, especially when triggered, to be creative because neurologically, creativity needs both sides of the brain to be active, and triggers/depression/trauma has proven to shut off various sections of the brain, especially the left side. i found that this connects to actors in method acting because it seems like a part of the technique is almost to trigger yourself and bring up past trauma, in turn putting yourself in a bad place mentally in order to do creative work. i feel like a lot of actors are actually critical of this technique because it is actually harder to be the most creative when you’re triggered or depressed. i do feel that having trauma or significant life experiences can inspire works of art and creativity, however, since the brain is greatly affected during an episode, i can see it being easiest when people are able to utilize their entire brain and therefore are not triggered or in a state of fight/flight/freeze that they are able to be most creative. so basically i can see why a lot of actors believe method acting can to be counter productive. thank you for coming to my ted talk lol
I feel like Leonardo DiCaprio’s career has been a carnival of protracted masculine torture to shed his association with titanic and a young female fan base.
great point!
oh my fucking god you're so right
I see it as trying to feed into the idea that masculinity is more serious, and that masculinity can mask possibly being not straight in a very straight and toxic environment. Would a middle aged Leo who still looked like the slightly feminine heartthrob of the 90s still get all the meaty leading roles? I don’t know.
Which is ironic, because without a young female fan base, who will he date?
Michael Halls LMAOO that’s a good one!
Judd Nelson was known to be a method actor, and frequently got into character on the set of "The Breakfast Club" by heckling Molly Ringwald, and even reducing her to tears. As director John Hughes wasn't used to this style, he came close to firing Nelson. He was a student under Stella Adler, and it's safe to say that thanks to the Me Too era, this would never fly in a modern environment.
Maybe we should hire people who can get into character without being a massive ass about the process.
Have you tried acting my dear, instead of staying awake for 72 hours?
Your comment clearly expresses disdain for the Me Too movement and it's results. Why do you hate a work environment where women are not harassed and abused? What makes a non-Me Too environment so appealing to you?
@@sseraphim2818 I believe the comment is literally thanking the Me Too movement for shedding light on the harassment women face. I didn't interpret it as criticizing the Me Too movement
Except it still does. I mean, Jared Leto and Suicide Squad comes to mind...used condoms and all. It's just now, more people are saying "That's horrifying and disgusting" instead of "Oh wow, what an artiste".
Why do all the male method actors decide to pick on women? Why not a male costar? I already know the answer. They want to be sexist assholes and harass women with full "justification" for doing so.
Your teacher _required_ you to write a deeply personal story, _share_ it with your class, then shared it _without your permission_ with another class?? Mind, if it were just some random essay about tree frogs or something and they redacted your name, it's okay, but anything _that_ personal? ugh. I would *not* do that to my students. If I'd assigned a normal essay and gotten a deeply personal one back, I wouldn't share it either, unless you specifically asked me to. It's a privacy issue.
Everyday occurrence in many schools. There are people researching these things now, that theme came up in Susan Leith Taylor’s thesis, ‘Actor training and emotions: Finding a balance.’ Unfortunately it’s very much a ‘media studies’ research design, so it leaves a lot to be desired for those who care about evidence based research. But in terms of existence proof, yeah, it’s a real problem.
Your story about drama school made me think a lot about being a drama major in college. I've noticed over time that in theatre school, pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone is encouraged and rewarded. And a lot of positive things and growth can happen. But I also have had increasing concerns about it. Once in a class exercise, I was talking about a hard thing I went through and I felt it cross a boundary in myself. The teacher kept pushing but my classmates also defended me and called out for me to stop if I didn't feel comfortable. I'm grateful for them for doing that.
In that movie The Marathon man (1976) You pointed out where Dustin Hoffmann’s character had supposedly stayed up for three days, Hoffmann admitted that he too had not slept for 72 hours to achieve emotional verisimilitude. “My dear boy,” replied Laurence Olivier smoothly, “why don’t you just try acting?" Loved that comment from Sir Laurence Olivier and acclaimed actor of 40 + years at that time of the 1976 movie. So he would know.
And doing that for his method acting by Dustin Hoffman was something going a little overboard. But Hoffman subsequently attributed his insomnia to excessive partying rather than artistry.
We love a Saturn devouring his son throw back
Khadija, my Queen!😍
It is art made in Spain, dude. Of course you are going to love it 😉
Oooof...haven’t finished but aleady reminds me of the method acting class where I watched a woman being groomed by another (male) student in real time...with the (male) teacher facilitating it by saying her resistance to the grooming and negging behavior of her scene partner was “inauthentic” and praising her giving in 🤦🏽♀️. None of it was scripted or had any direction it was supposed to go. The dude instructor just assumed women give in to negging 😡
Both she and I said something to the teacher - that we’d react poorly to any guy who treated us that way - that her being closed off WAS authentic for the situation. He brushed it off and told her she wasn’t reacting vulnerably enough and I was “too new” to know. She ended the session in tears.
that's so disturbing :(
@@CatharticCreation it was. I never went back and honestly was worried about what I saw, but there’s no reporting method or anything so all I could do was not give him any more money. The guy was doing it outside of the scene with women too, so it felt a bit like he used it as a way to get women and girls :/.
That’s confusing to me as an outsider. How could the teacher be telling her that her reaction was wrong And be teaching And think he’s teaching acting? I’m sorry you dealt with that.
@@handlehandlehandle he could, because he believed, that his knowlegde about acting and "common sense" assumptions, how women should act in the potraited situation, was more insidefull than actuall women experiences and instincs. It's not uncommon for creative men to dismiss women input (in form of comments to art itself or as potential source that could be included in research) as not necessary or even outright wrong.
@@handlehandlehandle colleges are filled with self righteous professor's my friend, especially the artsy ones.
"Why don't you just try acting? It's much easier" Omg the burn, Holy shit!!!!!!!
he did in my heart
This is a critique of *abusive* method acting, not all method acting. As long as an artist isn't harming anyone else through the means they use to produce their work, and if the method they use genuinely works for them in ways other approaches simply can't, then who is anyone else who doesn't "think it's necessary" to scorn and judge? If an actor wants to use "I'm a method actor" as an excuse to be an abusive asshole to people (i.e. Jim Carrey in Man on the Moon), then that actor should be condemned for being an abusive asshole not for being a method actor.
The reality is that there is no "average" learning brain in human beings. We each have our own means of processing, retaining, and recalling information. It's presumptuous to assume that just because [insert famous actor or acting coach here] says they think method acting is bogus, that means that no actor actually needs method acting to get their best performances. Some people just need to take a different path to a desired result. There are hundreds if not thousands of method actors out there, and the cases of those who cause harm to their coworkers is a fraction of a fraction of that total. Why are we implicating scads of honest, kind, and hardworking artists for "doing it wrong" just because some famous names scoff at method acting and because a comparatively small percentage of all method actors take it too far and hurt people? Condemn their misuse and abuse of the method, not the method itself.
It's also pretty disrespectful and misleading to put Daniel Day-Lewis, a method actor I've heard nothing but sweet things about as a person, in the thumbnail. But go off, I guess.
As an actor, what you discuss about men “self mythologizing” is so, so true. I was raised in an environment where “men were expected to be men” and theatre was very much not a part of that patriarchal archetype. So when as a teenager I became drawn to acting and performance (thanks to a wonderful teacher who endured abuse as an openly gay teacher in a Southern Christian school) I definitely felt the internal tension of being drawn to an art form that demands emotional vulnerability, a stereotypically “unmasculine” version of self performance, while also being expected to live up to an archaic version of manhood. I do think my ego in my early years grew out of a desire to reconcile these two forces and as I’ve gotten older and more experienced I lose patience with myself and other male actors whose ego causes problems for the actors around them. I agree a lot with Jodie Foster’s take that you highlight in this vid.
Thanks for your hard work, this was very enlightening and gave me an opportunity to self reflect!
As someone who has studied the Method (both in London and with Strasberg Institute online-I studied with a lady who worked on the Sopranos WHAAAAT) there is something telling about these particular movie stars
who go to an extreme. NO teacher has EVER told me I need to go to this extreme. The closest was during a showcase where I was told to be in character for 20 mins before going onstage. Apart from that, alot of emphasis was placed on taking responsibility for your personal health, knowing that emotional memory was mostly a back up to be used with great care.
Your perspective on WHY they do it is fascinating.
This. Also studied Method acting and our teacher always remind us to be safe and not be an asshole. Going to extremes was never a part of it. There’s always a way to be truthful in your performance without causing harm on yourself and others.
my friend this dick head people dont know what is method acting they think that becoming a mad character is method acting....
i am a method acting and i have learned this greatest art by my own.....
@@mickhead4348 Hi, i am a method actor...the reality of method acting is hidden and you have to make this art your own....once you know the method and your mind is ready...its time to make it your own art and about the being-in-character-off-stage its not true you live as that person for sometime only to know about him...if a method actor losses himself...then he cannot act...he will always be himself...
yes, you're someone who actually knows what Method acting is, this video is so very wrong. I studied many approaches, including method with strasberg, none of what's on this vid is what method acting is. Media and the public exploited emotional memory. Strasberg always said those that can reach emotions easily don't need it. It should be used as a last resort if nothing else is working. And for anyone that actually worked with him, he always said don't use an experience that is unresolved or extremelytraumatic. It's why many times he'd try and go back to someone's youth. For example, someone who hasn't experienced someone's death, he would use possibly when a little kid a pet cat dying, and the feeling from that. Or the shock of taking a hot shower and cold water comes out, can be used if one is having a hard time being shocked in a scene (that was used from an actor in a tv show where he finds a dead body,and nothing was working.). It's merely a trigger, . Again, I've studied with various Stanislavsky based, or method acting teachers i.e. strasberg, hagen, meisner based,etc. none ever told me the things this vid is saying
Art is exciting, and it's natural for an artist to be excited about their craft. But drummers can't get on the kit and shred at 3 AM. Painters can't walk up to someone's house and start painting on the wall. Sculptors can't steal chunks of stone from world heritage sites. It doesn't matter if what makes you feel most inspired is tap-dancing on the feet of cancer patients, you're not the center of the known universe.
Most artists get that.....but there are quite a few Hollywood actors (and some music stars) who aren't required by society to be good people. And that's a shame. Because most of the rest of us manage to get through life without constantly imposing on everyone who comes into contact with our art.
Tap dancing on the feet of cancer patients. 😂
I do agree with you 100% though.
i wish i could like this comment 100 times
Artists imo opinion are free to do what they want, that's why they're here. But people are just as free to give criticism
@@tahsina.c Freedom of expression is incredibly important to me BUT I think freedom generally has to stop at the point where it harms other people. Everyone should have the right to express themselves through martial arts, but they shouldn't have the right to punch random people. We should have the right to draw pictures (even lewd ones), but we shouldn't have the right to mass email furry erotica to everyone in our university.
Self-expression is very important, but there is a point at which expressing yourself transforms into hurting other people, and I don't think we're discussing the merits of the art at that point, we're discussing whether or not it's OK for anyone to mail dead animals to their coworkers - in the name of art or anything else.
@@exquisitecorpse4917 The New Victorians. The Safety Police Generation. Generation Anti-Depressants.
I don't understand the not showering bit. It's an audio/visual medium. You can't smell through the screen. Pretty idiotic.
Tho definitely going overboard, I can see why an overzealous actor trying to do 'too much' as the kids say would do this. The "smell" (i.e. odor) has to do with the actor's reaction to the smell as well as the reaction of the scene partners to the smell, very much like how in reality we react to our senses outwardly and physically through actions & expressions, which may affect performance in the way he or she sees fit. Moreover, the feeling of 'being smelly' or 'being dirty' for the actor may, for whatever reason according to them, make him or her feel more connected to the realism of the moment and therefore may contribute to a "better", more "realistic" performance. They may also feel like by being 'smelly' they're giving a truer performance so to speak. For example, in Ken Burn's documentary about World War II, he interviews a soldier who was basically in the field for over a year being a killing machine and didn't take a shower or bath during that entire time. A lot of soldiers in that war didn't have the available amenities or the availability of time to wash themselves properly and thoroughly.
Leo didn’t wipe his actual blood on her face this video seems very well researched but this is an important detail
Ms Deschanel, let me say first that I enjoyed your video - I stumbled onto it, and watched to the end. I am a method trained actor/director/artistic director who studied with Miss Stella Adler 1982-84. On the last day of training she singled me out to our class as the only student who "got it." So, after twenty years developing a repertory theater approach to stage performance based on the Stanislavski System as well as a year working with a visiting Russian Director from the Pushkin Theater, I invite you to do another video, focusing on Miss Adler's faithful imparting of the Stanislavski/Moscow Art's Method. As Miss Adler often said, "Strasberg killed a generation of actors." To leave a study of Stanislavski's work with such focus on Strasberg's "sense memory" without equal time on "imagination" does the system a disservice. The system's technique is to be used only when inspiration comes up short, it is also used to expand range, elevate choices, and especially to portray characters greater than the actor. As Miss Adler used to say, "the talent is in the choice." Great work. Cheers.
I like her point about Leo and Brad Pitt, every time I watch a movie with Leo all I can see is his smug face being his smug self. I don't even think about Brad Pitts performance, it just happens, and that's what's great about it.
I agree with you. Leo DiCaprio movies are so boring and typical. But with Brad Pitt you literally mention the movies and know the name of his characters. You mention that before Brad Pitt. To me, that's a talent. The other one is trying to hold on to something after his beauty went away.
@@AB-sm1qf dicaprio very seldom makes “typical” movies. what’s typical about the revenant? shutter island? wolf of wall street?
@@MacIntoshMann No one is saying those movies are typical or bad. What I was trying to say is that there's a characterized vibe to DiCaprio character though. Whereas with a Brad Pitt one, his essence is sort of gone, you think the character is a different thing from the actor. I agree with another user that it could be his voice, and why Django sticks out massively in the DiCaprio repertoire as that's the closest I've seen DiCaprio get to seamlessness.
Leo's performance in Shutter island during the twist reveal feels different though.
@@MacIntoshMann i think the problem is leo's look
He is has the face of privilige, wealth and no mather what role he's in u can see it bc he's not the right type to show struggling. If he weren't so famous he coulndt get half of the roles he played bc he wasnt fitting to 'type'
To me, i would like to see someone with more agressive and animalistic features in relevant
Leo doesnt have a face that terrifies u, sometimes u want to punch him bc of his asshole roles but thats just it.
The guy isnt scary and shouldnt be in the terrifying roles or places
I can't help but think about Bojack Horseman. The story of how his personal troubles spilled into his professional life and he choked Gina. IMPO Method can often be used as a public guise to cover up extremely toxic and even criminal behaviour by male actors: Leto's 'gifts' were jot method, they were harassment. We do seriously need an examination of Method men and as the public make sure we scrutinise claims of this practice. Be Method if you must but you can't be method out of scene if it involves non consenting or coerced peoples.
Glad to find a Bojack fan here, it’s even more relevant as that season also touches upon how forgiveness of the characters’ actions can lead to the actor feeling justified with their poor behavior as well
Yes. This. S5 of BoJack was so important, in so many ways.
Girl, it was confirmed that those "gifts" were a invention of the press. Don't put Jared on this.
@@mariaginer3488 proof?
But Jared leto is shit as the joker. He fucking sucked in that role, and i dont think the use of a tool such as the method was the very thing that made him both be awful to be around, and still perform terribly... Thats like saying you killed somebody because the gun is an evil instrument that possesed you to do evil. Call me crazy, but if we see method as a tool, it logically can only get you as far and as effective as your mental state enables it to. If its to be seen as merely a tool in order to get somewhere, its effetiveness and use are not to be discredited.
I was waiting for the Marilyn mention, thank you. I hate that family, The Strasbergs and Arthur Miller (her last husband) were the type of """"friends"""" that can suck all the life out of a person even if the intention is good. Their "intellectual" view on art was very detrimental to her career and mental health. Instead of helping her with her serious traumas they wanted to use it to ""elevate"" her artistry and for me that was her downfall. They didn't respect boundaries and pushed her too much. I don't believe they were malicious but, nonetheless, their impact were harmful. They were like parents to her, 75% of her estate was left for Lee. That search for deep old pain just created more suffering
And don't sit right with me they (actually Strasberg second wife) selling Marilyn's image rights to a company that manages dead celebs....
Right as a huge Marilyn Monroe fan I hated what the Strasbergs and Arthur Miller did to her, she was looking for love and confront she to escape the pain from her childhood and they made it worst by exploiting it for artistic gain. They knew she wanted to be taken more serious as a actress and they took advantage over that
28:50mins... Yeah; that's just you.
Leonardo DiCaprio comes to life on-screen, whether it's 'Romeo + Juliet', 'Titanic', or even 'Inception'. But Brad Pitt tends to play the same role continuously throughout his career. What you describe as emotional subtlety I see as bland cultureless takes'.
I've worked in theatre on and off for the past 20 years or so; as such, I've worked with all levels of actors, from professional to high school drama kids. One of my takeaways from those experiences is that "method acting" of the Daniel Day-Lewis/Jared Leto variety, comes from a place of insecurity. As if they can't trust themselves to successfully transition from their own self to the character they're portraying between takes or scene changes (and yes, I get that acting for film/TV has a whole set of challenges different from acting for the stage). A grounded actor knows how to "step into" and "step out of" a character, and thus would not need to "stay in character" throughout a 4-month shoot. I mean, yes, an actor must spend a lot of time and energy researching and understanding the inner life and motivations of a character in order to believably portray them on stage or screen-to get the audience to be emotionally invested with the character. But this need to BE the character for weeks, months, or (in some cases) years, just seems a bit silly and unnecessary.
So method acting is iether A;"flimsy excuse for being a jerk to your coworkers. B;"unpleasant self torture ritual everyone agreed as mandatory so you're taken seriously for your craft because that's when you"put in effort/work"/"take it seriously"ect, C;"something that can seriously damage your mental and physical healt along with your coworkers. Wich one is it? The way I see it, acting is a form of lieing;"you can add some realism so people will buy your lie more effectively, but be careful not to loose the plot, otherwise you're gonna hurt yourself, and the people around you and that's where the line could/Should be drawn". And that's an unacceptably uneven risk to reward ratio! Because you're only gonna have and keep a job, is when your not rocking the boat. A lot of media like cartoons when dealing with in universe actors, who are unpleasant jerks, are being awed and braindead thinking their mere talent is admirable, and their shitty attitude is just mandatory and or natural/ignorable. Why? If actors are so insecure about them being taken seriously or such jerks constantly, then choose other professions like"shock jock"or"lawyer"!
@@erikbihari3625 - I've seen each of the three options you present at different times from different actors. I think Jared Leto has chosen option A for most of his performances, Daniel Day-Lewis, Adrien Brody, and Leonardo diCaprio seem to have chosen option B, and Jim Carrey and Joaquin Phoenix seem to have chosen option C. These are the actors that come to mind at the moment. I don't know if those are their intended, deliberate acting methods; just my understanding based on what I've experienced/observed over the years.
@@cosmicphoto05. That's a nice recap, but still doesn't really answer my question. I got the gist of it"method acting is bad and in most cases unnecessary", but some specifics would be nice! It's a lot like when comparing the value behind voice and on camera acting, both of them are a crystalised perserved version of momentary scripted interplay where the performers attempt convincing us that a character could be real, but don't really go into the different skillset,training circumstances or difference between the two beyond the superficial;"one is about having your face filmed, the other is when they record your voice". For example, godzilla mendoza's ultimate Spider Man video hyperfixated on the fact that drake bell is an on screen sitcom actor and not a voice actor, acting like an adequate dramatic performance by animated standards, was equal to wooden early video game voice acting,personally think his most believable scenes we're the dramatic speeches, and his comedy come across like a facade to simultaniously differenciate Peter Parker and SpiderMan but also to help him stay calm fighting out of his league supervillains and anger lesser ones into defeat, while you can still buy his character used to be a nerd who got bullied on a daily basis. While his predacessor Josh Keaton sounded so effortlessly cool in and out of his SpiderMan persona, that I was having a hard time buying that he used to be the world's punching bag!
@@erikbihari3625 - Some specifics that come to mind:
Throughout the filming of "Man on the Moon", Jim Carrey felt the need to be "possessed" by the spirit of Andy Kaufman-which he expressed by being abusive to his fellow cast members and production crew, fighting with the director, and being an all-around asshole. This made life very difficult for everyone involved, even when the camera wasn't rolling.
Joaquin Phoenix spent about two years being an absolute weirdo for his film "I'm Still Here"
Jared Leto did all kinds unnecessary "Joker"-style antics during the filming of "Suicide Squad" (e.g., sent used condoms to fellow cast members)
Daniel Day-Lewis never left his wheelchair throughout the filming of "My Left Foot"-he even made cast and/or crew members wheel him around when they weren't filming.
Based on my experience with actors-and doing a bit of acting myself-I just find the depths to which these actors go in order to "inhabit" the character they're portraying a bit much. But those make for juicy "behind-the-scenes" stories! Some of these actors won awards for their efforts, whereas I have not. So... 🤷😅
@@cosmicphoto05. People need to stop viewing the academy as"be/end all"wich they rely upon to prove their legitemacy. That's why woman and p.o.c. think we're still living in dark ages with limited opportunity, and everyone descriminates against them, thus they need to"prove"themselves harder! Bit tangent, but I thought about a Moby Dick adaptation recently, half of it was just thinking how it'd play out given our current political climate(i.e."dumpsterfire"), and other is how i'd make a Mel Brooks style parody of said climate. The assumption I went with is that they gonna change ahab to a woman,black, or both, and that's it(the story is literally about a Man being blindly obsessed with killing a"Large/White"menace literally called"Dick";), the satirical take I would make, still have that, while sporting an"inclusive All Black"crew, who keep dropping like flies, while ahab says"Black Lives Matter",and their harpoons/spears(my first language isthis;🇭🇺)looking blatantly like Oscar statues! Think i'm on the right track, or just a dellusional loon?
As an ex-actress, I can personally attest it's often been used to excuse abuse directed at female co-stars. "Finding the character" and being "in the moment" results in the actor roughly sticking a tongue in the mouth of a scene partner, as well as being even more violent to women on-set, as noted in the video, where actresses have been verbally abused, slapped, and so forth. Men who "do the method" at least get to do externally-driven things, while women are asked to behave in ways that are stereotypically sexualized, because of the male director's assumption this is the woman's true self.
Great video. I wish I'd seen it when I was in my 20s. Maybe I'd still be acting!
@@FireSilver25 ha, I wish I’d said that when a guy slipped me tongue during a scene!
I’m a writer now, and while leaving acting was very hard, at least I’m more in control of the stories that are told.
And at male actors by female directors.
I understand and approve of method acting as a technique (of many; not for everyone) actors can use _on themselves._ It's not something you do _to_ coworkers.
that's b.s....... I still work as a professional actor for 40yrs. And I've trained with many different teachers/schools
e.g. AADA, Strasberg, Hagen,etc... Whatever an actor does is on them. Not one of the teachers , not Strasberg, Hagen,etc every said or pushed for what this vid and many on here have said.
I agree, and have seen myself actresses who were somewhat abused, taken advantage of, in the name of acting.
But sorry, no, you can't blame that on Method or any other approach to acting. I've seen plenty of actors who have done that, it's wrong, none of the ones I worked with studied Method acting. They may have used that as an excuse.
You're confusing Method acting with 'some' males toxicity.
You said ".....behave in ways that are stereotypically sexualized, because of the male director's assumption
this is the woman's true self."
I do agree with you, many men have, or had that mindset, attitude, both directors and actors.
But that's been going on for a hundred years. It's wrong, but it has zero to do with Method acting. It does, or probably has to do with the male ego
@@johnmarengo3988 what does "somewhat abused" mean? You either were or weren't.
I like that you call him "Plato's Socrates" because, of course, we know very little about the real Socrates who produced no writing of his own.
The thing about "Method" acting is that it was a really stunted and one-sided interpretation of Stanislavsky's method which was much more reasonable and well-balanced. Basically based on bad/incomplete translations into English of his groundbreaking work.
Also, anyone who has worked on a movie set can immediately understand why that type of total immersion just cannot possibly work on a set. Like, you spend 10 hours waiting around for maybe 1 hour of acting, and you repeat the same scene 5, 10 times, maybe more. There's no way you can seriously believe you *are* the character in a literal sense under those conditions.
then you simply don't know what method acting is, nor Strasberg's work. No, it wasn't based on bad/incomplete translations. Everyone takes from someone and makes it their own. Meisner created his own technique out of Stanislavsky. Strasberg created his own techniques. And btw, Strasberg work was closer to the lesser known Vahtagov, who worked with Stanislavsky, but combined more realism with theatrically. And that was more Strasberg. Both stanis and strasberg said they're teaching various tools for students to take in, and then create their own unique way of acting. Both of them said that
@@johnmarengo3988 Blink twice if you're possessed by Strasberg's vengeful spirit.
Method acting can be little things, like keeping up a character's accent even when not filming.
Uhrhhrhgrggrghr Hiiiiii o juju jojo iijijkjjjj jj
Stanislavsky has nothing much to do with that. He was pretty awful towards actors and students, too. What is that with non russian speakers praising russian artists uncritically allthe time? Same with Nabokov
David Mamet’s book “True and False” has the most eye-opening perspective on this that I’ve ever read. He really cuts to the heart of the issue and shows the absurdity of being so caught up in yourself, when in fact you’re just supposed to be performing the craft. He draws an analogy of a surgeon or car mechanic needing to “get to the right emotional place” before doing their work. No. Just do your work! Show up for everyone else and, in forgetting about yourself, you’ll be a far better colleague than any self-absorbed Method actor can be.
Seeing the Netflix documentary about Man on the Moon a few years back has led me to conclude that Jim Carey must be insufferable to be around in real life.
Omg yesssssssss like wtf when I was young I used to idolize him but eff is he just so annoying and self absorbed even now to this day with his condescending self loathing of being a celeb
His Riddler was awful can’t wait for Paul Dano’s
@@popoffpeppar have you seen cory michael smith’s version of the riddler in gotham? i thought he was fantastic
What does Riddler have to do with this
As a lay person, my issue with method acting is that I just don't understand what's the actual acting that you are doing if you've gone method. If you are portraying how disgusted/desperate/shocked you are while eating a raw animal liver, is it acting if you are actually eating a raw animal liver? If you are portraying someone who is almost dying from hypothermia, is it acting if you are actually suffering from hypothermia? If I want to see 100% realism, I'll watch a documentary or the news. I know that the movies are just stories, make-believe. This doesn't make them any less enchanting to me, and I suppose this is true for other regular audience members who have not have any acting training in their lives and just don't care about the method. We just want to get lost in a good story...Great video btw :)
that's just the ignorance of not knowing what method acting is. This vid is 100% wrong on what it is. Horrible vid, it's a lie
@@johnmarengo3988 explain?
@@rosariajs7956 I'll try... not so easy as there are tons of books on it. I've taught classes myself on it, not always easy to explain in a few sentences, or a short vid.
Also I would highly recommend obtaining the book 'Strasberg at Actors Studio'. More than other acting books. Because its actually someone who tape recorded his sessions at the Actor's Studio. So you're getting it firsthand , and none of it is what this vid or others say.
I'll try to explain .... in another comment,so not so long
Especially as a frontier man, he actually probably wouldn’t be that grossed out by bison liver. That was LDC’s own reaction and it wasn’t very authentic to the character
Once I saw a comment from someone complaining that his art class emphasized realism over cultivating other forms of art. Like it was the only true form.
I asked them how a teacher could be expected to believe they drew what was in their mind if they can't even draw clearly what they see with their own eyes.
They deleted their comment.
I'm not defending method acting exactly as defined in this video, but for some actors aspects of "the method" are just the most foolproof way for them not to screw up a performance. If speaking with a fake accent like a crazy person for months won't get you used to speaking the accent naturally, what exactly is going to? Want to respond naturally when the characters name is called? That IS your name now, get used to it. Will rooming with the actor who plays your bestie get you a better performance? You'll be more comfortable around them if nothing else. Sometimes it just makes sense - you really want it to look real, make it real for you. It's pretty simple. I don't want to see a completely fake performance any more than you want to see someone traumatized on screen.
And just so we're clear Daniel Day-Lewis did not make himself hypothermic to commit to a scene of Daniel Day-Lewis' character getting hypothermia. He got himself hypothermia by committing to the character's living conditions without thought towards hypothermia. He's only half as nuts as you think he is
Pfffft...Mark Hamil will always be the best Joker. No pretense, sorry method, involved. I can't imagine the emotional labour and levels of annoyance that Viola Davis would have had to endure on Suicide Squad. She is by far the superior actor.
Heath's is my favorite tbh, Jared is really a good actor but he need to stop playing joker, I heard he's on it again 😒
@Randy White it's okay English is my third and I'm still learning, but I'm confused what's my mistake again!??
@Randy White ooh tysm 😊
Mark Hamill said that when he was driving to the studio, he always laugh as the joker on the freeway. Whenever he did the joker voice, he moved his entire body like the way they animated the joker. In any of his interviews, whenever he used the joker voice to illustrate a point, you can see how his shoulder poised. He was the best joker. It is not pretense, it is simply practice. Heath Ledger spent days in his room doing the same thing.
I haven't acted in decades, but looking back, I think my best performances happened when I knew my lines so well that I didn't have to picture the words on the page in order to remember them. You have to pretend you don't know what's about to be said. In fact, you have to pretend you don't know what you're about to say. That forces you to listen. If I were to take up acting again, I would focus on learning my lines as well as I know my address.
@cinamonrollcutie 2 I think method acting is very cult-like. It also focuses on the self to an unhealthy degree. That's probably why it appeals to so many narcissists. After mastering your lines, I think the most important thing is creating a good back story for your character. It should be as detailed and intricate as you can make it. After you've tested it, try reversing it. People always mask their true feelings. The tough are actually sensitive. The happy are hiding some sadness. When you think the character should be acting strong, try playing them weak. It's when people let their facade slip that is most dramatic. ;-)
@cinamonrollcutie 2 All actors are screwy, and most are narcissists. It's just that some of them have talent. Dustin Hoffman once asked Lawrence Olivier, "Why do we do it?" And the Sir crossed the room, got in Dustin's face, and said, "Look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Look at me!" lol
I think the fact that so many great performances have come out of “the method” kind of validates it as a legitimate method (unintentional) of acting. Just as there are plenty of other acting styles a performer can utilize. And, of course, it can be critiqued as any other artistic technique, but I feel people conflate their dislike of a style’s negatives with whether it is useful artistically. It can have issues (even major ones) AND be worthwhile on an artistic level-both can be true.
I feel like the main takeaway is that, for some actors, method acting is the key to a truly memorable and award-worthy performance. But you also have to have some serious clout to be able to get away with it, which is why most actors don't do it.
9:39 this makes me think of a story my teacher told. So he was saying that there was this one director who told one of their actors who had to be sad in a scene that their father had died and the actor was so traumatized he broke down in the middle of acting and they didn’t find out that it was all a lie until after it all happened. And my teacher brought that up as a good reason to join actors unions and as to why there are actors unions and laws of ethics or something like that in the acting world. Because that person was traumatized solely for a scene.
jesus
God damn
Wtf? That "director" is a psycho
Interesting aside the Russian translations of his books onto English are not completely accurate, which also contributes to the confusion
The Benedetti translation they mentioned is more recent (c. 2008?/2010?) and seems to be more accurate. The original translation split the work into three volumes when Stanislavski envisioned two. Benedetti corrected this. Benedetti was also involved in theater academia.
@@jameshamill4709 interesting thanks I didn't know that
I was in theater in hs, and i won a best actress award twice. The first time I was playing an asshole and i was trying "method", i was a dick to everyone, including my parents. And the second time i was playing a mentally ill person and i didn't wanna do method because i felt... like if you can switch on and off youre a better actor? And honestly i felt more proud of the second one.
That wasn’t method acting you were just being a brat lol. You thought that was method acting but that’s not what it is.
@@sovietninja6865 Hence why the word "method" was in quotes, presumably. Because they now know that it wasn't really method.
big example: jared leto
Everytime an actor starts telling the stories about how extreme their prep for a role was, I start doubting. It feel so much like a marketing ploy.
at 17:26 you said that art and suffering have always operated in tandem with each other and I think that’s an interesting take but I disagree. I think they exist together in western culture which has been heavily influenced by western organized religions like catholicism and Christianity which both heavily romanticize suffering. they treat suffering like a virtue instead of tragedy. if we look at other cultures around the world they don’t place that same emphasis on human suffering.
The association of sacrifice and dedication with art is definitely universal. That's simply because it's hard to become notable in the field, especially such a subjective one dependent on the whims of your peers, without a level of commitment to the craft that excludes other things.
But the idea of the artist of someone who necessarily *suffers* for it, emphasis on emotional turmoil, is not a byproduct of the Western monotheism tradition. Suffering as an subject worthy of depiction is prominent within Christianity for obvious reasons, but if you're looking for a guilty culprit among the artistic community it is 18th century Romanticism. That movement pinned extreme personal emotion as the wellspring from which all authentic art, as opposed to kitsch or classical form, springs forth. While it's a hazy connection, you can see the through line with Method acting when considering the latter's disdain for any hint of imitation.
Absolutely positively dead on!!!
Suffering is important in most religions and cultures because it's a fact of life and people try to find a way to deal with it. Suffering can be very productive for artists, it can be used as material, it can provide insight and motivation. But of course it would be ludicrous to seek it out or to assume that you can't be an artist because you haven't suffered enough.
Brilliant Observation !
This is a LIE
You really covered everything!
I went to an art highschool (partially) and its insidious to think how the culture is when teachers and admin could combat it SO easily by just teaching how to see the toxicity and so on.
"Babe wake up. New Broey Deschanel video."
"pitt isnt praised as a great actor."??
SINCE WHEN?
This reminds me a lot about River Phoenix (may he rest in peace) he started using drugs since he went into an extreme method to prepare for his role in my own private Idaho that later resulted in his death.He always wanted to feel that connection with the characters he played,he also learned some piano for one role even (i think that is possitive) but there are always extreme sides and since his acting was the reason probably his family ate he probably just felt a lot of pressure into make everything perfect,,its a shame that he died for this.. point here: an extreme method acting can lead to the worst case scenario
I remember watching Isabelle Huppert in one of those HR actors round table things, she was asked if any of her characters ever influenced her life in any way or if she took anything from the role she is playing to her personal life. She very coolly answered never and that she usually compartmentalizes her job and personal life. It was kind of refreshing to hear after listening to actors for so many years the kind of influence a character has on their personal life.
Maybe but I hate actors who see it as just a job
Is that a joke?
@@ChangedMyNameFinally69 It is just a job, though. A noble craft, for sure, but still.
@@clusterflick6333 Is that really a way to live?
@@ChangedMyNameFinally69 This has nothing to do with their comment.
I used to be a working actor, mostly local theatre in Montreal, mostly unpaid. I had to stop acting a few years ago in my early 30s because I used to use emotional memories in all my performances and it took a major toll on me. I'm not going to elaborate, but it was bad. Really bad. I have since been diagnosed with many mental illnesses, which I guess makes sense as to why using that technique lead me down a dark road especially for someone who was mentally ill and didn't know it. That's the thing though, isn't it: mental illness often goes undiagnosed. I'm definitely not the only actor who had to stop acting because they kept re-traumatizing themselves to get the performance directors wanted. I'm doing better mental health-wise and I hope to be able to act again one day. I think your guest speaker was right: I think I need to be in a very good, stable place and for a while before I can consider acting again. Because they were right: only when you know you have something safe to come back to, when you're totally stable, can you explore the darkest parts of the human experience through storytelling.
Your testimony is very interesting. I honestly didn’t expect acting to be such an intense job, like training as a soldier.
good luck i hope you keep getting better and better ❤️
I know this was months ago, but i hope you're alright ♡
The timing of this is impeccable. Just started taking and acting class where they were talking a little bit about this. And the teacher mentioned what your friend was saying:"to be a better actor, you need to find balance and truth in your life. Your best performances will be when you yourself are in balance" is what the teacher was saying. And there is no one single method. We are all so different that there is really no good way to teach acting. What works for some might not work for me and what does work for me might not work every single time. Loved this video!!!! These are so well made!!!!
Most people here obviously haven’t read, trained or researched method acting. A lot of myths of it are described in the video.
A lot of what you are all saying isn’t even the Strasberg Technique which is what’s regarded as method. What the world thinks is method isn’t method, please do your research. It incorporation of relaxation, animal work, working with sensations, imagery as well as sound/music work (this is a very vague summary) it’s actually not necessarily about using your past, it’s about developing presence and being hyper aware of everything happening.
If there’s anyone out there who actually has accurate better description than me, please add
e describe what I’ve mentioned. Look at actors who actually have trained with Lee Strasberg or people below Lee Strasberg.
Denzel washington is one of the greatest actors of our generation.
and he just acts.
Facts!!! Don Cheadle is another 🐐, too!
So do a lot of method actors
Is Broey CANADIAN? If so, a fellow canadian, yay! More interesting essayists from other countries!
I have a theory about why more men feel the need to "go method" compared to women... As women (actors or not), we are trained to empathize with others and see things from other perspectives. So if/when we have to step outside of ourselves for a role, we often are able to do so. We don't have to hyperfixate on our own past trauma in order to synthesize empathy for the character. Whereas men are not taught to see things from other perspectives. They are not taught to empathize with others. So centering themselves/their trauma comes more naturally to them than genuinely cultivating empathy.
I think it's more about support systems. generally women have a larger support system and are taught to ensure they have support. Their supports help them to easily come back from method acting, which is a conscious thing that takes effort. whereas men have less support so if they had similar support systems they could come down off of method acting easier and 'tormenting co-stars' would not occur.
This is such dehumanizing rhetoric. Empathy isn't taught, it's an inherent aspect of being a living being, which is why even animals are capable of displaying signs of empathy, even without language or schooling.
The actual reason why method appeals to men is that status is sexually selected for in men, more so than in women, so men do things like destroy their bodies and psyche in order to obtain status. For a lot of men, status is the difference between dying alone in a world that doesn't care about them, and actually living a life where people acknowledge their humanity. That's why guys do that stuff.
@@Jonmad17 you make good points and I even agree w/ some of them, but you don't have to be so dismissive of female trauma, or try to spin this narrative that women have it easier than men. if you have an issue with how society treats men, take it up w/ the men who uphold this society and benefit from it, rather than with women, please.
@@ruthfolorunso8715 I literally didn't say a single negative thing about women wtf. I'm saying that just like women feel anxiety about their bodies because it's the basis of their value to society, men feel that way about their status for similar reasons. Where did I dismiss female trauma?
@@Jonmad17 ah okay, well in that case, I'm sorry I misread. That said I think your point and the points above are all part of the same issue, which is the patriarchy not providing men witb appropriate emotional knowledge/support (so empathy is inherent but if men place their value in status, they're likely to never develop or suppress empathy to attain status, or smth like that)
i have to admit, as a black actor it’s extremely frustrating seeing other BIPOC put so much care into their performances and deliver such moving performances but white actors assaulting/harassing their crew (particularly women) on set gets headlines and even praise. i could never 🙃
Sorry, what does BIPOC mean.
@@starshine684 Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour!
in fairness, Guillermo del Toro is firmly BIPOC, and The Shape of Water's opening sequence is a master class in the male gaze. Don't disagree with your point, but the real problem seems to be with the directors of the movies in question where "white actors assaulted/harassed their crew"--actors are not in charge of the set, and are 100% beholden to the demands of the director when on set.
@@ryanlindauer7083 it’s not like in most of these cases, a director forces an actor to behave that way. a director doesn’t force an actor to “go
method”. yes, a director can be involved, but to say that the “real” problem is the director feels like the actor is getting away scot free. if a director tells an actor to actually punch their costar, but doesn’t tell their costar, both the director and the actor are assholes to me. (also del toro is a white latino!)
@@shaesdiaries stop saying bipoc it’s so fucking dumb and confusing
21:22 this is not meant as an insult or critic but martin sheen was legitimately an alcoholic during the filming of apocalypse now and this scene is not him method acting or even acting at all he's just helplessly drunk idk why they even kept this in the final cut
Hi, trained Stansislavski actor here (the legit kind, not the watered down/heavily altered version) was so worried going into this it was gonna be yet another video full of misinformation about the technique… then breathed a huge sigh of relief in the first 10 minutes when you talked about the difference between “raw” Stanislavski and subsequent dangerous derivatives that take out the safety mechanisms that make it work. Not to say there weren’t any inaccuracies about the differences/line where “orthodox” Stanislavski and “badsh*t insane” Stanislavski begin and end, but I appreciate the effort to emphasize there is a _safe_ version of this that actors are choosing not to do.
It got even worse with the publishing of “textbooks” on the technique in the 70s/80s by authors who had no affiliation or background in it, contributing to even more harmful and dangerous misinformation. These “textbooks” are what get taught in many university settings, which is where these dangerous types (cough, Leto, cough) come from.
I learned from a trade school, where you’ll be more likely to find a professor with an actual background in the technique and therefore prioritizes safety. To quote my old professor “you can’t go on stage thinking you’re Hamlet.” If you totally remove yourself from the character, you’re not acting anymore. You’re just endangering your entire cast and crew.
First of all, AMAZING video Broey! If you hadn't included that Dustin Hoffman/Laurence Olivier story I would have commented it because I love it so much. I also want to point out that the way the Academy and the industry rewards this kind of behavior and storytelling also plays into the really frustrating nature of the industry to not reward genius comedic acting performances. Great comedic actors are rarely ever nominated for awards- big exception this year for Sacha Baron Cohen and Maria Bakalova in Borat: Subsequent Movie Film- and you never hear about someone "going method" by what, making their cast and crew mates laugh all the time and having a lot of fun on set? A lot of great actors who work across genres will admit that comedy is so much for challenging because it's way easier to strive for catharsis, which often has universal appeal, than for comedy, which is highly subjective.
I mean, they are rumors that Heath ledger skateboarded his way to work and didn't act like an asshole to anyone despite playing an anarcho-terrorist trying to create chaos in The Dark Knight (2008). He was professional in his job. Guess be empathetic towards others and yourself and don't be an asshole.
I’ve seen many interviews of actors saying that comedy is a very difficult genre to excel in
@@danielapardo2977 Well, look at the actors who are terrible at comedy but good at drama like Adam Sandler.
@@rickardkaufman3988 and always get frustrated when people hold up Heath as some sort of Method Icon. Because well, he died for his craft!
No. He died due to serious mental health issues and mixing medications. He never pulled the abusive Method BS on his costars, and from all accounts, was extremely professional and could easily turn it on and off. It’s just that he couldn’t turn himself off. I’m fairly sure I even recall him saying in an interview that he thinks Method acting is BS. And yet- people still associate him with it.
@@katherinemorelle7115 Actually his family and close ones have since said that the mental and health issues he faced were pre-existing before The Dark Knight (2008) and he didn't suffer from any severe forms of these issues after the role. So I guess he was able to turn part of himself off.
omgggg when I learnt jamie dornan stalked a woman for his role in the fall...like he should've been arrested.
What suddenly jumps out at me here is that the public would never put up with seeing animals put through the abuses these actors are, but somehow we think acting confers a free pass for a movie team to let it happen to people.
People can give consent, animals do not.
I hate to be that guy, but humans are very much okay with putting animals through tortures far greater than any actor has ever gone through on a set.
You just know Lee Strasberg designed the method to allow men to make hot women do their bidding.
I just watched an interview with members of the most recent production of "Angels in America." The show is amazing, and 8 hours of Play all told.
The address who played Harper said that in "Angels," there's no space for the indulgence of method acting, and that the actors needed to be present for each other and for the work. She said method acting was too internal to do justice to the work.
"You went full method, man. Never go full method."
THIS is a great comment. I hope everyone gets it.