What exactly is method acting and what is the opposite of it?

Question

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

Answer 1

Method acting involves knowing all the little details about a character so that the actor in essence becomes the character, so even if they were to improvise a scene they would immediately know what the character would do in any given situation.