Method Acting

[lindalove]

Watching The Machinist, I got thinking. What do you think is some impressive method acting?

Christian Bale - The Machinist - Lost 63 lbs.
Robert De Niro - Raging Bull - Lost a lot, then gained a lot.
Tom Hanks - Cast Away - ^ but opposite.

Any more, add 'em.

[Charlatan]

Method acting isn't really tied to weight gain or loss. It is a process used by some actors to draw on his or her emotions, experiences and memories to flesh out the character they are playing.

It was pioneered by Konstantin Stanislavski (sometimes it's called the Stanislavski Method) and made popular in the US by Lee Stasberg at the Actor's Studio.

While DeNiro uses the Method, his weight gain for Raging Bull isn't completely attached to the Method.

That said, I think Charlize Theron was awesome in Monster and a large part of it was her dedication to "fleshing" out her role.

[Suave]

Jamie Foxx for Ray. He made sure his eyes were taped shut for the full duration of filming each day (not 24/7 I don't think) among other things.

I also heard that Jim Carrey stayed in character for months while filming Man on the Moon.

[SecretMethod70]

Joaquin Phoenix has something interesting to say about Method:

I don't need to pull from my experience for a character, and I've never understood why actors would, except for lack of ability, imagination or research.

And then there's this little statement by Mark Ruffalo:

"I don't like this idea of Method. I come from that school, but what I was taught was that it's your imagination. You do your homework, and you use your imagination. People use the Method as a shield; it shields them from being vulnerable. I hear all these young actors who are like, 'I'm Method, I'm gonna go live in the house, you know, I totally get it, I've done it, I've been there', but one thing I know is it kills spontaneity. They'll still give great performances, but they're not playing with the other actors - it's all about them. And spontaneity and vulnerability are gold on screen and on stage - they are the fucking magic.

I'm not entirely sure I disagree.

[mystmarimatt]

Method Acting itself is hard to totally nail down, because Stanislavski wrote a ton of stuff, only some of which has been translated. And some of his later stuff actually discounts his earlier work, the stuff we call "Method."

But, from all the work I've done with it, I prefer not to use it. Some of it is useful, the sourcework, for example, helps you from doing something totally unbelievable, but on the whole, with the internal work, I feel like it kills my imagination, and disallows for creative insight. It emphasizes self over character, which feels like denigration. I especially dislike "the Magic If." How I react to something isn't as important as how the character reacts to something.

And Mark Ruffalo is bad-ass.

[Charlatan]

My favourite anecdote in reference to this is when Hoffman and Olivier were filming Marathon Man. Hoffman was to do a scene where he has just come back from a long run. So Hoffman shows up to do the scene but can barely do it because he has just gone out and run many miles so his character can "feel" the part.

Olivier asks, "Why are you exhausting yourself?"
Hoffman replies, "I've got to get the right feeling for the scene. What else could I do?"
Olivier responds, "Try acting."