I just read the term somewhere and have read all the wikipedia stuff, multiple articles, reddit posts, discussions, etc, but I just don’t understand what method acting is? What else can actually be there? Don’t all actors try to feel pain when they’re in a role where they have to act hurt?
I am not really looking for the history behind it, but maybe an example of a scene and the different ways as to how a method actor would approach it vs how a normal actor would approach it.
Thanks!
Edit – I know this is not the most scientific or complex phenomenon to understand, but still.
In: Other
So it sounds like you get method acting, I’m going to add one example — say there’s a scene where an actor needs to cry.
THE METHOD would say you should try to get in the mindset of that character at that moment in that scenario and cry as that character cried, speak as that character would speak.
INSTEAD: you could just think about the time your dog died and cry about that, then deliver your lines remembering other times you were very sad and mimicking those emotions and sounds. (Because will the audience ever know that you were just making crying sounds and not actually sad? If you sounded just like a sad person, then quite possibly not!)
^(Asking for what the opposite of a style is is kind of hard; it’s like saying what’s the opposite of “Waltz” anti-waltz? samba? swing?)
As a contrast, consider “Character Actor” performances; think of Will Ferrell in Elf, The Wicked Witch in Wizard of Oz, pretty much any character in James Bond or Austin Powers, Some Gary Oldman roles (5th element), etc. There are some great performances where “truly becoming exactly what the character would feel in this scenario” isn’t the right idea — if you’re a mustache twirling villain chew the scenery and be a villain, if you’re playing a character for laughs just play the role for laughs. etc.
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