Method Acting
Method Acting is
often talked about in hushed terms as if people were in church. People talk as if
actors physically and literally “become the character...." through some
bizarre mystical process. What is odd is that Lee Strasberg
“What all actors have
always done whenever they acted well.”
Method-acting is a
method of acquiring truth in character. Used well it is total immersion in a
role "Getting under the skin of someone else." Becoming so convincing
that the "Willing suspension of disbelief" follows for the audience
and they and the other actors are able to accept the performance "as
if" it were truth itself.
Hollywood is full of
stories about method actors who have gone too far, the truth is that
method-acting is a vital acting technique that will bring life to your
performance. Method-acting examines the psychology and history of character, and
teaches the actor to harness his or her own past experience in order to play
the part. Sensory exercises play a huge role in stimulating the actors’
imagination. It is vital to learn how to expand your imagination so it assists
you, that way you continue to develop as an actor.
Most actors use
elements of method-acting in order to create a convincing performance and it is
one of the most widely used acting techniques. Creating a back-story for the
life of your character up to the point where the play or film begins, enables
the role to be based on a distillation of truth. Ask yourself compelling
questions? Where was I born? How did I get on with my parents? Where did I
learn my major lessons in life? How? What happened at college? Did I go to
college...etc...The purpose is to stimulate your actors mind to give focal
points of history to deepen your knowledge of character.
Lee Strasberg, the
founder of method-acting felt that the performance should be the climax of the
character’s life and had to be seen in context with everything that had gone
before.
This close association
with the portrayal of a character can cause problems for an actor, especially
when playing an evil role. Inhabiting the mind of a monster can have an effect
on day-to-day life. Kate Winslet for example struggled for months to get back
to normal after playing a concentration camp guard in the award winning film
The Reader, and many actors report the same sort of experiences.
The reason for this is
that the inner mind cannot tell the difference between a real and an imagined
event. It is very important for actors to learn how to associate themselves
into a role and dissociate themselves from it when they are not performing.
Some extreme method
actors risk their health by going to great lengths to look like their
characters, undergoing drastic eating regimes in order to fatten up or slim
down for their role. Daniel Day Lewis famously stays in character all through a
film and on the set of "Lincoln" asked director Steven Spielberg and
others to address him as "Mr President"
The death of Heath
Ledger has been attributed to his excessive use of method acting. Playing the
Joker in the blockbuster Batman Returns, Ledger apparently remained in
character over the months throughout filming and became obsessed by it. He could not snap out of the character he
described as a “psychotic mass murdering clown”, perhaps this led to his
depression and death through an accidental overdose of sleeping pills.
Personally I believe
it is vital to understand the depths of a characters mind - but there are
limits and you need to know your own boundaries, so do take care guys.
Method acting can be
taken to excess but excellent actors use it all the time - all good acting
requires a depiction of reality and this vital acting technique gives you insight
into your role and leads towards a peak performance every time.
Learning to relax is a
key ingredient to being able to stay out of the darker aspects of your
character.
Nick Recommends - To
my mind the most extraordinary book on acting I have ever read and still refer
to is "Respect for acting" by Uta Hagen. In my opinion this is an
absolute must read for any serious actor. You can check it out here. The
exercises contained in here will make you a better actor. Guaranteed.
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