Written by DEPKES.ORG March 2023
As hit HBO drama Succession returns, star Jeremy Strong's "method acting" has been making headlines again.
Ever since Strong discussed his tortured process for playing would-be media mogul Kendall Roy in an infamous 2021 New Yorker profile, he has been saddled with the "method actor" label.
Method acting with a capital "M" is a series of inner techniques that use relaxation, and sensory and emotional exercises, as "a way of digging deep into the self in all of its idiosyncrasies and complexities to find the materials to make a character," says Butler.
The likes of Christian Bale (The Fighter, American Hustle, Vice), etc. have also earned Oscar recognition for their extreme weight loss and gain for roles, with much of the marketing and press focused on their dangerous commitment to aesthetic authenticity.
While actors like Strong grab the headlines with the laborious methodologies used to deliver their interpretation of artistic truth, perhaps the time is now to celebrate the real diversity of performance and its practice.