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Should We Stop Method Acting?
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Release Date
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February 26, 2020
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Running Time
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23:36
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(The Channel Awesome logo and NC title sequence play)
NC: Hello, I'm the Nostalgia Critic. I remember it so you don't have to. They're easy to admire and easy to make fun of. Let's talk about method actors. (nods)
(A shot of a man holding up a mask is shown)
NC (vo): One of two scenarios usually pops in a person's head when method acting is heard...
(Cut to a shot of the movie There Will Be Blood with Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview)
NC (vo): A groundbreaking genius who artfully sacrificed so much for their art...
(Cut to a clip of Tropic Thunder, showing Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller) and Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey, Jr.) arguing with each other)
NC (vo): ...or a pretentious narcissist trying to get even more attention due to their insecurities.
Lazarus: I'm a dude playing a dude disguised as another dude!
Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel): What?
(A montage of news articles on method actors is shown)
NC (vo): There's so many articles and videos about actors who have lost themselves in the performance and did crazy things torturing themselves and even others to get the best performance possible.
NC: (crosses arms) And I'm here to ask, is it really goddamn worth it?
(Cut to a clip of the movie Kramer vs. Kramer where Ted Kramer (Dustin Hoffman) sits at a table and points at Joanna (Meryl Streep) sitting opposite him)
NC (vo): Let's back up and clarify exactly what method acting is.
(More movie clips are shown: Taxi Driver, where Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) dramatically pulls a gun on someone, and My Left Foot, where Christy Brown (Daniel Day-Lewis) plays a rough sports game with others)
NC (vo): It's said to be a technique of acting, in which an actor aspires to complete, emotional identification with a part. That is to say, in order to get the most authentic performance, an actor will take part in psychological and/or physical exercises to be more convincing.
NC: It doesn't sound too bad, but Hollywood has a unique way of going batshit insane.
(Another clip is shown of Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond, where Jim Carrey is presumably getting a haircut)
NC (vo): So often we hear of actors making everybody's life a living hell just for a role...
(Cut to a clip of Suicide Squad, showing Jared Leto as the Joker, and another of one of the documentaries for Apocalypse Now with Marlon Brando)
NC (vo): ...whether it's having everybody address them by their character name, being emotionally abusive to costars, or stopping the production because it's what their (mockingly) "character would do".
NC: And let's be honest, it's usually allowed because the method actor is a big star.
(More footage of method acting in movies is shown, such as Jim Carrey in a making-of featurette of Man on the Moon, Marlon Brando in The Godfather, Dustin Hoffman in Kramer vs. Kramer, and Jared Leto in Suicide Squad)
NC (vo): If a newcomer tried half the things that Marlon Brando, Dustin Hoffman or Jared Leto tried, they'd be fired on day one. But because these were big celebrities with big draws, they were seemingly allowed to do whatever they wanted on set, no matter how much it interfered with the production.
NC: These made for great stories and great clickbait, but it doesn't make for great acting.
(Cut to another clip of Day-Lewis, this one of him as Bill the Butcher in Gangs of New York)
NC (vo): Well, maybe the first question to be answered is, why would anyone method act to begin with?
(Another clip of a movie called I Am Sam)
NC (vo): It would seem like such an obvious ploy for actors to get attention...
(Cut to another clip of Jim Carrey's haircut in Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond)
NC (vo): ...and it just seems to slow things down and stress out an already stressed-out crew.
NC: Well, (the articles on method actors is shown in the corner again) for these over-the-top stories, sure, but there are several times that actors have used method acting techniques that seem perfectly reasonable.