| Here are the five key traits of Method Actor | | | | parents, which he hated. He felt betrayed, |
| Oscar Winners. | | | | ostracised and alone – all of which he felt the |
| 1. They‘re dedicated to character. They go | | | | character was experiencing at that point in the |
| into intricate detail and often create unique | | | | film. |
| physicality by mimicking an animal. Robert De Niro | | | | 7. Many London Drama Schools don‘t teach |
| played a crab in Taxi Driver – he thought the | | | | this technique, but clearly it is an important tool |
| character was indirect and tended to shift from | | | | for the film actor. |
| side to side. | | | | 8. They're highly disciplined. They need a high level |
| 2. As ’Stanley‘ in A Streetcar Named | | | | of concentration to think about their own |
| Desire, Marlon Brando played an ape, while Dustin | | | | experiences, and to generate the right emotion |
| Hoffman played a weasel in Midnight Cowboy. In | | | | before the shoot. |
| Method Acting training, the actors have special | | | | 9. There‘s a myth that Method actors are |
| acting classes on animal work. | | | | out of control - but it‘s actually the exact |
| 3. They don‘t fake emotion. Method actors | | | | opposite. They have trained for many years to |
| tend to recreate their own feelings by thinking | | | | precisely manipulate their emotions. |
| about something from their own life to produce | | | | 10. The Method drama courses are constructed |
| the correct emotional response. They need to | | | | to allow the actor to investigate their own |
| know their own psyche and their own conditioning. | | | | emotions. |
| 4. If you're going to play somebody else, the | | | | 11. They sacrifice their own ego for the |
| theory goes; you have to understand yourself | | | | character‘s. They‘re not blasé or |
| first. | | | | arrogant; they tend to be humble. De Niro is so |
| 5. Method Acting drama schools have acting | | | | shy, it‘s hard to believe he plays these |
| courses focused on Affective Memory - one of | | | | characters. |
| the acting tools used by Method Actors which | | | | 12. People who have big egos aren‘t able to |
| they develop during their actor training. | | | | suppress their own ego enough to play the |
| 6. They use their own lives to make it personal to | | | | character. |
| them. Christopher Walken said that when he did | | | | Great actors aren‘t worried about how |
| the Russian roulette scene in The Deer Hunter; he | | | | they‘re being perceived; it‘s more about |
| was recalling being sent to summer camp by his | | | | playing the character truthfully. |