Why Brian Cox believes method acting breeds hostility: “That’s the problem”
Method acting was innovated by Konstantin Stanislavski, an actor, director and co-founder of the Moscow Art Theatre who reigned supreme in the 20th century. The basic premise of method acting is for the actor to fuse with their character to the point where they live like them until the production is over–they talk like them, walk like them, and eat like them.
It doesn’t end there, either. You wear their clothes as if they were your own. You do so at home, in between takes on set, with your friends, with your family, and with your colleagues who are trying to make a movie with a normal person.
Method actors have produced some of the most compelling performances in cinema, but not everyone appreciates it. Brian Cox expressed dismay at the practice in an interview with The Guardian. Cox, famously, can’t stand method acting. He believes it’s pointless, selfish, an enemy of the imagination and destroys the atmosphere for others on set. He has described the technique used by his Succession co-star Jeremy Strong, who plays one of his three children, as “fucking annoying”.
But, in this instance, the newly circumspect Cox wanted to accentuate the positive. “He was wonderful to act with. I had no argument with Jeremy’s acting.” But? “He would be an even better actor if he just got rid of that so there would be much more inclusiveness in what he did.”
Isn’t it a pain when you can’t have real conversations with a cast member because they are permanently in character? “Well, it’s not good for the ensemble. It creates hostility. That’s the problem.” Did he talk to Strong about it? “No, not in the way I would like to have talked to him, but it’s a very emotive subject for people who follow the Strasberg line.”
Notable actors besides Jeremy Strong in Hollywood who conformed to the ‘method’ practice include Christian Bale, Robert De Niro, Daniel Day-Lewis, Heath Ledger, Hilary Swank, Natalie Portman and (for good or ill) Jared Leto. Whether you co-sign the technique or not, we wouldn’t have the filmography of these actors without method performances, no Bill the Butcher in Gangs of New York, no “why so serious?” in The Dark Knight. We wouldn’t know Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver.
Cox mentions Strasberg, a famous acting coach who brought the practice to American cinema. There are some discrepancies between his interpretation of the practice and its original inception, but whether you approve of method acting or not seems more to do with whether you actually know someone employing it on a daily basis. It probably doesn’t affect you personally if you’re in the front row of the theatre with a bucket of popcorn, enjoying a midnight rerun of a Daniel Day-Lewis performance.
But if you’re on set with him and he’ll only answer to his character’s name? Or if you’re Leonardo DiCaprio and he’s antagonising you because your character is at odds with his? You might stop caring whether the film resonates with the audience at all.
