Method Acting

Yes, you have to stay in character. For sex scenes we had to be nude in front of the class and stay nude all week.

You do not have to stay in character, but it helps some actors. You want to get to the point where you react like the character would and your lines—your reactions—seem organic.

Who cares what Strasberg said. He is not the be-all and end-all of Method Acting.

Then what did Stanislavski say r3.

I do remember the teacher saying the staying in character was something Strasberg concocted now that you mention it.

(but in that Micelle Williams/Marilyn movie she's being coached by a method actress and she isn't told to stay in character. She's told to use her substitutions which I guess was because Olivier was so mean to her she was supposed to think of someone she liked.)

[quote]Method Acting. Is staying in character a part of it?

Do you mean staying in character even when you're not rehearsing or playing the part -- like, staying in character when you're on a lunch break? It would help if you could articulate your question more clearly.

Oh I didn't think of that r5.

I guess both.

There's Daniel Day-Lewis who had to be called Mr. President and stuff on Lincoln.

Is there any part of method acting that suggests you stay in character. (like during a play when you are off stage etc.)

I remember Meryl being interviewed on 60 Minutes being asked this and she said I'm not schizophrenic and laughed. I always know I'm Mary-Louise Streep from NJ but I try to think like the character would.

(the mocking Gaga got over her "method stuff" prompted this question.)

People use method actor as an insult now.

Sorry I can't seem to express my question more clearly.

I heard that the English / British actors don't use method acting & don't stay in character off-camera / off-stage.

I think it takes more skill to turn it off and on quickly. The actors who stay in character during the entire shoot sound insufferable. No wonder they have no energy to be civilized to background actors (another thread).

Apparently, Angelina Jolie was "on" at all times during the Girl Interrupted shooting. "On" as a nutjob character.

Supposedly Alan Rickman would stay in character as Snape. He said something to the effect of "when you put on that outfit something happens". The child actors said he may have stayed in character to help keep the children focused-but he never confirmed that. However,there were photos of him behind the scenes with him with Maggie Smith and he is laughing.

Sissy Spacek announced to the other cast on Carrie that she wasn't going to talk much with the other kids because Carrie was such an outcast. She said on breaks she'd wander around the studio lot alone not talking to anyone.

Method acting gives you tools and techniques to access the motivation and emotions necessary to realistically and truthfully react in the moment (scene). Method actors who need to stay in character 24/7 are essentially admitting they haven’t understood the concept of Method. It’s all very masturbatory ego bullshit. Any American actor who’s studied stateside in the last 50 years has learned some form of the Method, so the perpetuation of this ‘I had to live it to be it because I’m so dedicated to my job’ is a farce. Julianne Moore is a method actor and openly calls herself a method actor if you ask her, but goes back to normal in between takes even in heavier scenes. Some actors need to be left alone on heavy days which is perfectly valid given all the interruptions on a set. DDL, Jared Leto, Jeremy Strong are all very ridiculous people.

Julianne is famous among her co-stars to turn it on and off.

Thanks r10. That was a great post.

Yes I've read Julianne Moore likes to chat with the other actors to work off her nervous energy. Interesting that she is a method actress. Didn't know that.

Fresh air?

Joanne woodward said she got so deep into her character when making Gamma Rays that she had to move out of her house because her family including paul she was acting so horrible as a person.

Actors Studio legend, Julie Harris was aloof and unfriendly towards her fellow castmates on the set of "The Haunting." While Claire Bloom, Russ Tamblyn, and Richard Johnson enjoyed each others' company on lunch breaks, Julie stayed in her trailer and rarely joined them for dinner. When production wrapped, she dropped by Bloom's house with a present, apologized, and explained that she didn't want to break character. She believed her self-imposed isolation would enhance her performance. Bloom was relieved. She thought she had done something to offend her.

R14 Bitch is a homewrecker who killed the son Paul Newman had with his first wife.

I guess you could say that Hitchcock treated Joan Fontaine in a Method way to help with her performance in Rebecca where she believed that the other actors didn't like her.

I remember when Jane Fonda was filming "The Dollmaker," she conducted televised interviews in character, speaking with Appalachian accent, and being humorless. I can understand not wanting to lose the authentic accent you've practiced so hard to emulate, but it was quite funny hearing her elucidate in hillbilly-speak.