What is character acting? 

Sometimes a performance feels so real and so honest, that we forget we’re watching an actor. The method acting technique involves the actor drawing on emotions from their own experiences,  creating a performance that’s so authentic, both actor and audience are completely immersed.  

In this article, we take a closer look at “The Method”. How does a method actor prepare for a role, and what are the benefits (and risks) of this technique? 

What is a method actor? 

A method actor is a performer who uses an acting technique that immerses them in the character. They’re not simply playing the role – they are being the character. The method actor feels the character’s emotions rather than acting them, which they do through exploring their own experiences and feelings. The result is a compelling performance that draws in the audience, who completely believe in the character. 

This is not without risk for the actor, who must be prepared to face trauma as they delve into their own psyches in search of the character’s truth. Sometimes, the role requires physical transformations above-and-beyond a bit of make-up or hair dye, such as extreme weight loss or gain. Tom Hanks famously developed diabetes after the fluctuating weight changes needed for Castaway. 

Method actors will genuinely learn their character’s craft rather than act it. Adrien Brody had piano lessons for four hours a day while preparing for The Pianist, and Daniel Day-Lewis’ skillset now includes butchery, hunting and shooting.  

The history of method acting techniques 

Method acting, properly known as “The Method”, was introduced to 1930s America by Lee Strasberg and Elia Kazan. Strasberg believed that in order to realise a role to its full potential, an actor should immerse themselves in the character the whole time. They don’t step out of role when they take the character’s shoes off – rather they live as that character during the duration of rehearsals and filming or throughout the play’s run.  

For the best results, the actor must first be a “blank state” before beginning to inhabit the role. Strasberg developed elements of method acting, which follow this path: 

1. Relieving tension: the actor starts by releasing tension from themselves through various exercises. This leads to Strasberg’s blank slate state. 

2. Focus: actors now start to re-focus on the world using their senses. Again, there are a series of exercises, which involve using all five senses.  

3. Sense memory (affective memory): when their senses are tuned, method actors then look into their own memories to relive and then to draw out experiences. These create the truth of their performances: reliving rather than acting. 

4. Identification and replication: the authentic response from these memories gives the performer an agency that they wouldn’t have if they were simply “acting”. Because they are fully inhabiting the character, they can influence the direction of the story. Method actors work well with improvisational directors because they’re always able to respond in character. 

Strasberg built on Stanislavski’s system of ​character development, which was the first technique to step away from traditional acting and into a more realistic approach. Stanislavski advocated looking into the character’s present, behaviour and motivations, using a list of questions as a guide. Actor Brian Cox uses this method, commenting that, “You can’t go wrong once you’ve asked those questions. That’s the basic motivation of any script.” 

Stanislavski’s work paved the way for actors to develop credible characters, while urging his students to draw on their own personal experiences. Strasberg continued this work by encouraging actors to use affective memory to underpin every aspect of the character, giving them in-depth authenticity. As Artistic Director at the Actors Studio, Strasberg’s Method reached a lot of students – and attracted a lot of attention. 

 
What is the difference between natural and method acting?  

 
Method acting is a form of natural acting, which involves “being” rather than “showing”. At its simplest, natural acting is the difference between a screen and a stage performance. A film actor doesn’t have to cry out loud to show distress as the camera will capture subtle facial changes. However in an auditorium, the audience may not notice nuances, so the performers have to signpost their emotions more clearly. 

The method approach, with its focus on using genuine emotions and lived experience, is the ultimate in natural acting.  

Character acting vs method acting 

Method acting involves a deep-dive into characterisation – does that make it similar to ​​character acting? Not really, as the typical character part asks the actor to create a whole new persona, rather than using their own emotions and experience. A character part is often more unusual and eccentric, and character actors usually move between roles pretty quickly (one, there are more character parts available, and two, they have less screen time). This means it’s seldom worth the character actor’s time to immerse themselves 24/7 in a role. 

The two approaches both need a lot of research into the script and the character’s background. Both character and method actors will invest their time and skills in studying the motivations, backstory and psychology behind the role. 

Examples of method acting 

There are plenty of method acting examples, especially among screen actors. What’s noticeable about these actors is that if they don’t already have the direct experience to draw on, they go to extreme lengths to make sure that they gain it. Here are a few of the best-known method actors. 

Marlon Brando 

Method-trained Brando broke the mould for how leading men could act. Previously, film stars had been more “stagey” actors; however, Brando had been taught the emotional memory technique by Stella Adler and brought this approach to his roles. His visceral intensity influenced a whole generation of actors, from Al Pacino to Morgan Freeman. His deep dives into character include spending a whole month in bed to prepare for his role as an injured army vet in The Men. 

Robert De Niro 

One of the most famous method actors, Robert De Niro has done everything from working 12-hour shifts as a taxi driver to piling on the pounds for his roles. During the filming of Taxi Driver, he actually picked up fares in New York (a whole new meaning to “Robert De Niro’s Waiting”). One of his more extreme preparations was to have his teeth ground down for Cape Fear, so he’d appear even more menacing as killer Max Cady. 

Daniel Day Lewis 

The Irish actor taught himself to type with his toes for My Left Foot, lived on set in a self-built cabin for The Crucible and contracted pneumonia during the winter filming of Gangs of New York because he lived in his 19^th-century clothes. He doesn’t step out of role at all during filming, apparently banning any talk of current affairs during Lincoln so as not to create any dissonance for his character. 

Natalie Portman 

Natalie Portman immersed herself in the physically gruelling world of a professional dancer for Black Swan. She built up her dance training to eight hours a day, plus daily swimming for fitness and stamina. Living on her character’s minimal diet (mostly carrots and almonds), she shed 20 pounds from her already slender frame. Portman was already trained as a dancer, and most of the dance scenes actually feature the actor rather than her body double. 

Adrien Brody 

The American actor also lost weight for a role, when he played Holocaust survivor Władysław Szpilman in The Pianist. Like Natalie Portman and dancing, Brody trained daily so he was genuinely playing the piano as opposed to acting. If this wasn’t enough of a commitment, he also moved to Europe to prepare for the role, leaving behind his car and phone, and apparently losing his girlfriend during the process. 

Kate Winslet 

The British actress played a German character, Hanna Schmitz in The Reader. She spoke in a German accent at home to immerse herself in the role, and later explained how it was hard to “get back to herself” when filming finished. Method actors develop coping mechanisms and techniques to strip away the role when the performance is over. 

Do you want to find out more about developing a character and preparing for a role? Check out actor Brian Cox’s BBC Maestro course on Acting, which takes a deeper look into techniques such as Stanislavski’s system.