Method acting is a set of acting techniques that are used by some of the world’s most successful actors. Generations of actors have used these techniques to help them to play a huge array of roles. Academy Award winning actors like Robert De Niro and Marlon Brando used ‘The Method’ to produce their iconic performances.
Since 2000, about 75% of Academy Award winners have been method actors. Over the years, 100+ method actors have won Oscars. World renowned actors such as Forest Whitaker, Daniel Day-Lewis, Ed Norton, Paul Newman and Dustin Hoffman are also method actors.
How Widely Used is Method Acting?
You would think, given these statistics, every professional actor would learn The Method. However, this is not the case only a few percent take the time to learn these extremely effective acting techniques. The vast majority of those that do so are from the US and work in Hollywood.
However, slowly but surely UK based actors are waking up to the benefits of learning method acting and are seeking out lessons. Sadly, some of the training they are getting is not up to scratch. However, luckily, there are some really good schools out there who teach the method if you know where to find them.
Finding the Best Method Acting Classes
Method acting is a relatively new way of acting. Konstantin Stanislavski came up with the basics in the early 1950s. He was the first person who actively encouraged actors to experience the part, not to just act it, he wanted them to feel it. He encouraged them to use their own life experiences to help them to do this along with experimentation and practice.
Lee Strasberg of the Actors Studio, New York took Stanislavski’s basic idea and honed it into a series of acting techniques. He taught many of the best actors of the 20th century the method. Whilst many of them died long ago, many of the people these actors taught are still alive today. If you can find a school run by one of those people, you should seriously consider attending that school. They understand method acting in a way others do not. They are as close as you can get to being taught by Strasberg himself. As a result, the classes they offer are of an exceptionally high quality.
If you are looking for method acting classes contact Brian Timoney. He was taught by David Bennett, who was taught directly by Lee Strasberg.