Method acting — or the controversial practice of experiencing a role as opposed to merely representing it — is a technique that has been maligned and venerated in equal measure. Many famous and flashy performances exist by virtue of actors who went “method,” from Joaquin Phoenix in “Joker” to Heath Ledger in “The Dark Knight” to Daniel Day-Lewis in, well, everything. But the technique remains divisive, with some critics skeptical of its motivations and results.
The acting style has evolved considerably through the years, and there are still movie stars who employ the method successfully. Two recent examples: Timothée Chalamet “tried his hardest to stay immersed in [Bob] Dylan’s shoes” while filming biopic “A Complete Unknown,” said Variety, and Ariana Grande has been accused of transforming her wardrobe, voice and entire disposition to get into character for “Wicked.” Both actors are nominated for Oscars at the upcoming 2025 ceremony.
An effort to strip performances of artifice
The “Method” was first developed by Russian theater practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski, who codified his approach in 1906. Lee Strasberg, a former student of Stanislavski, went on to further refine the method, introducing it to Hollywood during the 1950s.
“Method techniques prompt actors to draw on their own experiences and emotions as a way to strip their performances of artifice,” said Angelica Jade Bastién at The Atlantic, with actors often replacing the “external conditions of their character in order to behave more authentically.” Some actors take it to an extreme measure, starving themselves or withdrawing from cast members and loved ones in order to retreat further into character. The resulting experiences — Leonardo DiCaprio sleeping in animal carcasses for “The Revenant” or an already-slender Adrien Brody dropping 30 pounds for “The Pianist” — routinely result in Academy awards, with the corresponding performances hailed as brave and raw.
Method acting was never made to look easy, but in a modern world where worker’s rights and protections are centered, it is understandable that actors may be less likely to employ these techniques. Following Strasberg’s method of “leaning into your real experiences” may necessitate actors reliving their trauma, said Cameron Gorman at Collider. The process can be physically detrimental, too: while filming “Gangs of New York,” Day-Lewis “refused to wear an insulated coat, resulting in pneumonia.” Amid a collective increase in mental health awareness, “questions continue to pop up about the effectiveness and safety of method acting.”
‘Overuse by those seeking award-season glory’
Method acting is often mocked. “Laurence Olivier famously expressed his disdain” for it when filming the 1976 film “Marathon Man,” said Newsweek. “Exasperated with the lengths his co-star Dustin Hoffman was going to for his role, he asked: ‘My dear boy, why don’t you just try acting?'”
“Perhaps some method actors take it too far. This could be due to their deep-seated narcissism,” said Mark Young, a professor at the University of Southern California, to Newsweek. “Some method actors see the project as all about them,” which can turn a movie set “very dysfunctional.” Other actors “may feel pressured” to practice method acting in order to “be taken seriously in their careers,” the outlet added.
While the acting technique has “fueled many of cinema’s greatest performances and can be a useful way of approaching difficult roles,” said Bastién, its prestige has dimmed in recent years thanks to its “overuse by those seeking award-season glory or a reputation boost.”
Jared Leto is a prime example of a method actor getting tangled up in ego and marketing. In preparation for his role as the Joker in 2016’s “Suicide Squad,” Leto reportedly sent fellow cast and crew used condoms, a dead pig and a live rat. The movie — and Leto’s irritating performance — was panned by critics. “The unimaginative and overly stylized quirks” of Leto’s Joker is a reminder of “just how unrewarding and empty method acting has become with all its excesses,” Bastién said.
Strasberg was “actually very opposed” to actors living as their character, Isaac Butler, the author of “The Method: How The 20th Century Learned To Act,” said to NPR. But after Robert De Niro won an Oscar for “Raging Bull,” a movie for which he trained extensively, and soon became “enshrined as our greatest living American film actor,” the acting style exerted an “enormous influence not only on actors but on the PR and awards campaigns for acting.” There is a “reason why actors are doing this,” Butler said. “Because then they can talk about the fact that they did it.”