Method Acting

From the melodramatic gestures of silent movies to the immersive, intricate performances made possible by 21st century technology, acting styles have gone in and out of fashion.

But no acting technique is more mythologised or misunderstood than The Method.

Mark Kermode and Ellen E Jones are getting under the skin of method acting to find out what it is, how it changed the face of American cinema, and why it’s not to blame for some truly weird on set behaviour.

Ellen talks to writer and historian Isaac Butler to trace The Method’s roots back to the Russian actor, director and theorist Konstantin Stanislavski. They discuss The Method’s founding father in America Lee Strasberg, some key Method performances, and how acting is changing today. To learn what it’s like to study The Method, Ellen talks to British actor and writer Louise Brealey about her time at the Lee Strasberg institute, learning to laugh at yourself, and never giving in to bad behaviour.

Mark talks to British actor Adeel Akhtar about how an opportunity to study method acting changed the course of his life, and not taking your character home at the end of the day.

And in a moving discussion, Mark realises a long held ambition to interview Ellen Burstyn, who played - in a long and glittering career - Chris MacNeil in his favourite film, The Exorcist. Ellen studied The Method with Lee Strasberg himself and now, at the age of 89, she is co-President of the institution he led, The Actors Studio. Ellen shares her memories of Lee and brings his creative exercises back to life.

In this week’s Viewing Notes, actor Jason Isaacs shares his favourite method performance.

Produced by Freya Hellier

A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4