This Top 50 list of Method Actors, shows some of the greatest names in acting, all of which are masters of the craft and many of which are award winners. Here is a list of the World’s most notable Method Actors.

1. Al Pacino

2. James Dean

3. Robert De Niro

4. Marlon Brando

5. Forest Whitaker

6. Daniel Day-Lewis

7. Ed Norton

8. Paul Newman

9. Dustin Hoffman

10. James Baldwin

11. Montgomery Clift

12. Jack Nicholson

13. Phillip Seymour-Hoffman

14. Anthony Hopkins

15. Denzel Washington

16. Harvey Keitel

17. Nicole Kidman

18. Gene Wilder

19. Robert Duvall

20. Sean Penn

21. Cate Blanchett

22. Jack Lemmon

23. Mark Ruffalo

24. Joe Pesci

25. Gene Hackman

26. Alec Baldwin

27. Mickey Rourke

28. Dennis Hopper

29. Russell Crowe

30. Walter Matthau

31. Meryl Streep

32. Marilyn Monroe

33. Angelina Jolie

34. Charlize Theron

35. Holly Hunter

36. Jane Fonda

37. Jennifer Jason-Leigh

38. Naomi Watts

39. Anne Bankcroft

40. Shelley Winters

41. Ellen Burstyn

42. Sally Field

43. Christopher Walken

44. Tim Roth

45. Joaquin Phoenix

46. Sydney Pollack

47. Jon Voight

48. Anthony Perkins

49. Sidney Poitier

50. Steve McQueen

All of these actors show exceptional ability and create genuine performances.

Welcome to my report on The Secrets of Method Acting. As you may be aware, ‘The Method’ is used by many of the top creative actors of our time. In my own journey as an actor, I was intrigued by how these actors achieved such an exceptional standard of acting. This led me to study The Method with some of the leading method tutors in the world.

I am now considered to be the UK’s Leading Expert on Method Acting and I have been featured on the BBC, in The Sunday Express, The Metro and The Stage.

Let me take you through key areas of the technique.

Affective Memory

It was discovered by psychologists in the early part of the 20^th Century that the best way to stimulate an emotional response from a human being is through their senses in conjunction with their memories.

It is understood that we perceive the world through our senses. We see, we hear, we smell, we touch, we taste. This is what stimulates us as human beings. It is also understood that the memory of these senses can affect us. For example, we have all felt hungry, thought of our favorite food and started to salivate, or heard a song that has reminded us of a relationship we once had. Our memories are strongly linked to our senses.

In The Method, the actor is trained to use their personal memories through their senses to produce particular and real emotional responses. For example, if two characters in a scene are going through a break up, the actors involved may work on some sort of experience of loss in their own lives. This could be the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job or the loss of an experience they enjoy.

Method Actors then fuse the real emotion that is produced with the event and character they are portraying.

Christopher Walken and Affective Memory

Christopher Walken was asked what he was thinking about when he shot the scene at the end of The Deer Hunter where he plays Russian roulette and kills himself. He said that when he was younger, his parents made him go to summer camp – he hated going – and the experience filled him with a sense of abandonment, loss and anger. He said that he felt his character was experiencing similar feelings, so he thought about that event during the scene. Christopher Walken understands that events from his own experience can expose the experiences of the character on a much deeper level.

Animal work

The animal exercise helps to recreate an external physicality separate from the actor’s own.

The actor picks an animal that they think reflects the character that they are playing. It must be a wild animal, not a domestic pet and not a reptile. The reason reptiles are not allowed is because they are cold blooded and we are warm blooded. The use of birds is also limited.

Once an animal is picked, the actor studies it at the zoo in intricate detail. They research the psychology of the animal, as it provides a great insight into its behaviour and thought processes. For example, Rhinos get a reputation for being an aggressive animal. But the reason Rhinos attack is because they are short sighted and cannot clearly see what is approaching, so they charge to protect themselves. This could be an interesting trait in a character.

The actor then recreates the animal’s physicality in detail. They get down on all fours or adopt whatever position necessary, and recreate how the animal moves, eats and sleeps. Once they have a strong sense of the animal’s physicality, the actor then stands up, starts to humanise the animal and says the character’s lines – incorporating the new physicality.

This exercise is used to great effect by Method Actors such as Marlon Brando, who played an ape in A Streetcar Named Desire, and a bulldog in The Godfather. It’s worth looking at these performances to see how the animal is manifested into human form.

Method Improvisation

Method improvisation techniques differ from the norm. Method Actors will use affective memory improvisation. This is when they change the affective memory they are thinking about and explore other memories to produce a different experience within the character.

They also use the ‘Where Am I Right Now?’ approach, which is where the actor tries to accurately understand how they are really feeling in the moment during a scene, and use it as a force within the scene.

For example, Dennis Hopper explains that if he becomes aware of external happenings during a scene, he incorporates them. He recounts a time when shooting a scene for a film, that he became aware that the continuity person was watching the length of his cigarette intently. The reason for this was that if the Director shouted ‘Cut’, the continuity person would have to make sure Dennis’ next cigarette was exactly the same length as the one in the previous scene. Hopper found this funny, and started to laugh in the scene, incorporating the external happening into his work.

These are just some of the techniques used by the world’s leading Method Actors. These exercises build unbelievable concentration and really stimulate real emotion, ultimately leading to emotionally charged and moving performances.

There is more to acting than is commonly realised, and the human body (the actor’s instrument) is capable of very much more than the conventional reality.

Best Regards

Brian Timoney

The UK’s Leading Method Acting Expert

www.briantimoneyacting.co.uk

020 8906 8247

P.S. Sign up on the right hand side for my Acting Reports and Tips to advance your ability and career

Here are nine areas to consider

1. People always tell me I have natural talent and that I should be an actor. It sounds like fun. How do I know if I have any talent? I don’t want to embarrass myself or waste my time.

It takes much more than natural talent to be a successful actor. You also need:

• The ability to take someone else’s words (the script) and make them sound believable and sincere, as if they were your own. With proper training, this skill can be learned.
• A strong desire to act and the ability to persist is essential.
• Some funds to invest in training, headshots and a professionally recorded showreel (a showreel is a DVD containing short clips of an actor’s work – it doesn’t have to be professional work).
• A solid marketing plan and a list of people to send your showreel to.

There are some people who have natural talent that are not always successful. I’ve seen people who I thought would never ‘make it’ go out and get jobs. I’ve also seen those who are naturally talented never get any work. In my opinion, what most people call ‘talent’ is really a combination of ability, desire, preparation and persistence.

2. I’ve heard that the same people (especially celebrities) take all the work. Is this true?
There are 100s of Theatres, TV stations and Film production companies working on projects. Yes, it is true the top names will get a lot of work, but they can only play one role at a time – leaving many other parts for other actors to get their teeth into. It is physically impossible for a handful of celebrities or a small group of people to do all the work!

Casting Directors and Agents are constantly on the lookout for fresh new actors. Anyone with proper training, a good showreel and enough drive has as good a chance as ever to break into this industry.

3. Do I need to join Equity to be an actor?
Not necessarily. You can still work as an actor if you’re a non-Equity Member, but people in the industry like to know that you’re a member – it shows that you’re a professional – and it’s also a bit of a status symbol. Equity is the Actor’s union – it is the only union for Actors in the UK. To become a member, you need to have done a professional job. So, once you get your first professional acting job, you’re in! Equity is good to be a part of, as it will protect you should you need to negotiate terms and conditions with an employer. Your Agent (if you have one) will usually deal with this, but it’s good to know that the union is also on your side.

4. How much money can I make in this business?
A lot. Top actors make six and even seven figure incomes. If you’re lucky enough to be cast in a Soap, for example, you can earn over £60,000 a year.

But don’t quit your day job! It can take years of perfecting your talent and marketing yourself before you reach this level of success. Non-union jobs pay as little as £150 a week and West End Equity salaries start at £500 per week. While these fees are not astronomical, they are a good starting point.

5. Can I do this if I have a ‘day’ job?
Yes. In fact, it will probably take a few years before your acting career is established enough to be your sole means of support. In the meantime, you’ll need to invest some of the money you make in your day job in things like training, headshots, showreel production and marketing expenses to get your acting career off the ground.

6. But how do I do both? Do they hold auditions on evenings or weekends?
Unfortunately not. Most auditions take place during normal business hours.

Before you can get work, you need to market yourself. This is done by consistently sending out headshots, showreels and CVs (which can be sent after hours), and following them up with phone calls, which can be made during lunch time or breaks. When the call comes to audition, take a day off or make some other excuse to duck out of work for a while. Most auditions take only 15-20 minutes.

7. Tell me about Agents. Do I need one?
An Agent’s job is to send your details (usually your headshot and CV) to Casting Directors and Directors, and follow up with them on your behalf. They will take a percentage of your fee when you are booked for a job. The percentage can vary depending on the Agent, but roughly it’s about 12% for Theatre and 17% for TV and Film work.

Agents serve a very useful function in the casting chain. They represent a wide variety of actors. Most Casting Directors and Directors prefer to work with Agents rather than call the actor individually. It helps save time.

An Agent will usually come to see your work or watch your work on a showreel. If they like what they see, they will sign you up to a contract. The contract will lay out what their percentage is and other contractual details.

If a reputable Agent wishes to sign you up, it’s probably a good idea to go for it – as long as the contract provides an “escape” clause if the relationship doesn’t work out. Make sure you have a lawyer review the document before signing.

Before you agree to be represented by an Agent, check their reputation with other actors and Casting Directors. You should quickly be able to find the names of the best Agents in your area.

If you cannot get an Agent to represent you, you can still get work on your own by sending your headshot, showreel and CV directly to Casting Directors and Directors – and then following them up religiously!

8. Do you need to live near London to be a successful actor?
No. However, most London Agents will only represent clients who live and work in the same market, as they are close enough to get to auditions and bookings quickly when the call comes in. In most major UK cities there will be an acting community and Agents that you can work with in your local area.

9. How do I get started?
Here is my 7 step approach on how to get started in acting:

Beware of any Agents or agencies that ask for money up front to market you. A good Agent will NEVER ask for money to market you. They will do so free of charge in the belief that they can get you work – that’s when they get paid.

Unfortunately, there are some disreputable individuals that might try and get you to pay a fee to join their agency – they usually justify this fee as ‘marketing expenses’ of some kind. Steer clear of this. Reputable Agents won’t do this.

Here’s how to stop this from happening to you:

1. Never give any money up front to an Agent, Manager or anyone who promises to get you work. A legitimate Agent or Manager gets paid their 12% or 17% fee AFTER they get you the job – never before. There are, however, reputable on-line casting services that will send you leads for a yearly fee of several hundred pounds. There is no guarantee here, but these casting services offer a good source of leads. ‘Leads’ are potential castings or auditions.

2. A legitimate Agent or Manager will NEVER make promises or ask for money up front for anything.

Investigate anyone who claims to be an Agent or Manager by:

• Calling Spotlight, the UK Actors’ Casting Directory.
• Talking to experienced actors in your area.
• Asking for a list of at least 10 other actors who have worked with them so you can check references.
• Trusting your gut instinct – if it feels fishy or sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my Report and I look forward to providing you with more important acting information in the future.

Best wishes

Brian Timoney

P.S. Sign up on the right hand side for my Acting Reports and Tips to advance your ability and career

Ever since I began teaching many years ago, I have had the opportunity to observe many careers. Interestingly, those who had the most ‘talent’ were not necessarily the ones who became the most successful. A career that looked promising could crash and burn before it even got started. In taking a closer look at this occurrence, I noticed that there were eight factors that surfaced again and again. They are:

1. Lack of training
2. Poor headshot
3. Poor showreel
4. Poor attitude
5. Unrealistic expectations
6. Poor organisational skills
7. Giving up too soon
8. Lack of professionalism

Let’s take a closer look at each of these:

1. Lack of training
Successful athletes, singers and actors all have coaches, even (and especially) when they are at the peak of their career. It’s no different for you, though sometimes a beginner with a certain degree of natural talent might think they can go it alone. It is very difficult to see yourself as others see you and it’s very hard to both act and direct yourself at the same time. A good coach will help you turn your raw talent into bankable skills. They will teach you how to move beyond simply reading a script to making the words your own. To succeed in acting today, you need much more than raw acting ability. You need good training, a reliable acting approach, marketing skills and the self-discipline to stop beating yourself up when the going gets tough. A good coach can shorten the learning curve by years and give you the support you need to pursue your professional acting career.

2. Poor headshot
A headshot is a professional picture of an actor from the shoulders up. In the UK, it must always be black and white. This picture is the single most important marketing tool for an actor. Agents and Casting Directors always look at the headshot before considering calling you in for an audition. So, it’s important that it is really good. By ‘really good’ I mean accurate and engaging. It’s no use having an airbrushed photo that makes you look great, but looks nothing like you. You would not believe the amount of actors that do this – and it really annoys Casting Directors. It’s one of their biggest complaints. Find a professional photographer to have your headshot done, and when you get the results, let others have a look at the photos before you pick your main headshot – as often we have a distorted view of ourselves and an outsider can be more objective.

3. Poor showreel
A showreel is an important marketing tool for an actor, and more importantly, it must be good – having a bad showreel is worse than having no showreel. A showreel is a DVD with short clips of your work (it doesn’t have to be professional work). Sadly, this is the one place where many beginners cut corners and fail. Your showreel must contain good quality footage filmed by a professional company – not a homemade DVD. But a word of warning, make sure that you are ready to take this step. A showreel that is homemade, badly acted or poorly produced will get throw in the bin. A showreel can be expensive to produce – anywhere from £300 to £850 – so don’t do it until you’re ready and have trained properly, otherwise you’ll be wasting your money!

4. Poor attitude
In the acting business, or any business today, good social competence – the ability to work well with others – is a must. There is no place for prima-donnas or actors with attitudes. You have to be able to take direction graciously, put up with fickle Directors, and take rejection with equanimity. I have been to too many auditions where the actor is sat in the waiting area moaning about the business. I have also seen actors try to ‘pull rank’ and barge ahead of others in an audition because of time constraints. Such negativity has a way of catching up with you and is the fastest way to undermine a career.

5. Unrealistic expectations
People often ask me how long it will take before they will start to make money in acting. That depends on many factors: the quality of your showreel, your talent and training, the amount of time you spend on marketing yourself and your persistence. An Agent (if you find one who will represent you) will not do it for you. At most, you’ll be lucky if an Agent sends you out on more than a few auditions a week. You must be willing to market yourself and that means finding Casting Directors and Directors who are willing to look at your headshot and showreel, and consider you for future jobs. This can take months or even a year or more to do. But it can be done. I did it and you can too.

6. Poor organisational skills
This is a part where the artistic side of being an actor clashes with the business side. Actors tend to be, and indeed must be, creative and artistic individuals. This means that thinking and running themselves as a business can be tricky. However, it’s a must if you want to work. Think of yourself as a product that has to be marketed. You will need a computer and a printer, and a database of Casting Directors and Agents to send out 100s of your photos and showreels to. You will also need a system to constantly keep you in contact with the people who can give you work.

7. Giving up too soon
There have been occasions in my career – when I was working as an actor – where I have called the same Casting Director or Agent every month for years! Some may be resistant to that, some won’t, but one thing is for certain – they will KNOW WHO YOU ARE. Many people give up too soon or don’t like doing this, but if you really want to succeed, you must make yourself do it. Thankfully, it gets easier the more you do it. Don’t sabotage your career before it gets started.

8. Lack of professionalism
You name it! Turning up late for sessions and auditions. Arguing with the Director. Not being prepared. Turning up drunk or under the influence. Letting a bad mood show. Spreading gossip. Bad mouthing other actors at every opportunity. Not caring for personal hygiene. Not following up on opportunities and leads. Being late. Sending work that contains mistakes or mispronunciations.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my Report and I look forward to providing you with more important acting information in the future.

Best wishes

Brian Timoney

P.S. Sign up on the right hand side for my Acting Reports and Tips to advance your ability and career

If you have a passion for the performing arts and have enrolled in one of the acting schools near you, expect a career that is people-centred. First you’ll need people skills to engage with casting panels. Then it’s agents, directors and fellow actors. But it’s when you get down to the work of acting that the interpersonal skills needed for teamwork come to the fore. Films and plays are, above all, team efforts and may fly or fall on the strength of the team itself.

The long and the short of it is that you’d better be a team player, at least when you’re on the job. You don’t actually have to be a ‘people person’; that’s something else. After-hours you can proclaim that you want to be alone and go batten down the hatches. But if you’re no good at teamwork, expect a rough ride, whether that’s in an actual production or in your acting courses.

Most of us think of ourselves as team players, even when we’re not. Team players are able to put their own interests second to those of the group in order to achieve a common goal. Being late for rehearsals is the sign of a poor team player. So is not learning your lines properly, because that affects the whole cast.

In fact, if any of your actions have a negative impact on the team effort, then you’re falling short as a team player. Sloppiness and inefficiency are just one way to do that.

‘Actor’ and ‘ego’ are two words that often go together, and not necessarily in a good way. Though there may be temperamental actors and divas in the industry, successful actors know that ego control is important to the quality of their performances. This applies to students taking acting courses just as much as it applies to established stars.

You may have heard people say that X is a ‘generous actor’. That usually doesn’t mean he or she is free with money. It means that X does not allow his or her personality to swamp others on stage and, literally, doesn’t hog the limelight.

Put yourself in the shoes of a casting director. He’s narrowed down a crop of promising graduates from acting schools and is down to choosing between two equally talented young actors auditioning for a role. One is a team player. Which one has got the edge?

A generous actor understands that a play or film is like a well-cooked dish. The constituents complement each other and work together to create something bigger than the sum of the parts. Too much (or too little) of the main ingredient, no matter how good it is, and the dish is ruined.

We often read media reviews that focus on actors’ individual performances. In reality, actors don’t just act. They interact. On stage or screen, actors take cues from each other and work in tandem. That’s teamwork and it’s the oil on the wheels of a good dramatic production.

Some people enrol for acting courses with a view to conquering Hollywood. Or your aim might be to tread the boards or appear on TV in millions of living rooms. Depending on the acting schools and drama teachers in your area, you may have the option of specialising in a subfield, and taking some acting courses and not others, from the very beginning of your training.

Is that smart? Will a narrower focus give you the edge in your preferred field or will it turn you into a one trick pony?

You probably realise that stagecraft and screen acting demand very different ways of working. If you’re dead set on being a soap star and nothing else will do, then spending time mastering theatre acting may seem to be a waste of everyone’s time. Or is it?

There is one compelling practical reason for seeking out acting courses that will give you a broad spectrum of skills. If you have a suite of abilities you have a better chance of finding work. Quite simply, if you want to act, being able to demonstrate versatility gives you more options.

A CV with a spread of job experience, no matter how puny the roles, has some substance. If you’ve specialised in something and have only a couple of acting outings to boast of, and perhaps long gaps between jobs, your CV can look unimpressive. It might even look as if you lack commitment.

It’s a gamble and it’s down to you. There are no rules for sure-fire success. But there is another reason to aim for a spread of acting experience. By working in different media you will draw on and develop a range of dramatic resources. You will be tested more rigorously, which is the best way to grow as an actor.

If you still want to specialise, you’ll have a keener feel for the specific requirements of your preferred medium. But what’s the hurry? Is time a real issue or are you just impatient? If the latter, note now that success in acting can be a slow burner.

Let’s say you’ve opted to get an acting training that gives you a broad foundation. Beware! You can still become a one trick pony.

Especially in the early days of your career, then why not mix it up a bit if you have the chance? If you are in more or less regular work, do you really want to do another costume drama or play another social misfit? It can be easier to tread well-worn paths but remember that typecasting is a pitfall to be actively avoided.

Some great actors aren’t versatile. Some turn typecasting into a career virtue. But, at the outset of your career, being open to all possible options is probably a smart move.

Empathy is a human quality that people define in lots of different ways. A simple definition is that it is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. It’s the ability to understand how others are feeling and why they behave in the ways that they do. That’s pretty much what you will be called upon to do as an actor.

Some people seem to be more naturally empathetic than others. Women score higher on empathy tests than men and it can be something that increases with age and maturity. Does that mean that older women have the edge in acting? Or that young actors have a built-in disadvantage?

The answer is clearly ‘No’. In fact, some psychopaths are hugely skilled in tuning in to other people’s feelings, but use this ability to manipulate others. Obviously most actors aren’t psychopaths, although you could say the actor’s role is to emotionally manipulate the audience – just in a good way.

You won’t have empathy instruction in your acting courses, but it is still relevant to you as an actor, in two principal areas. First, it helps you to understand the characters you are called upon to play: their dilemmas, emotions, personality and motivation. Second, it is relevant to how you, as an actor, relate to your audience.

Being an actor is about creating dramatic personae that are not like you. But research shows that it’s easier to empathise with people who are like us. How hard then is it to play a serial killer, as Charlize Theron did in ‘Monster’?

The thing about empathy is that it doesn’t mean endorsing another person’s standpoint or behaviour. Rather it’s a ‘what if?’ scenario, that draws upon your imagination. Without a doubt, acting courses in london can help you to develop that imagination and the creativity that you will need as an actor.

You may have read about method actors who immerse themselves in a part, even off set, almost trying to become another person. This is a popular myth. Empathy is about feeling for another person without losing one’s sense of self. That would be fatal for most actors’ performances.

Rather, acting courses in The Method will help you to bridge the gap between you and your character. Affective memory, a key concept in method acting, is very similar to empathy. It’s about finding common ground that will give your performance emotional depth and tone.