One of the biggest misunderstandings about Method Acting is that it was invented by Constantin Stanislavski. Mr Stanisnlavski was alive at the end of the 1800s/ early 1900s, and did contribute significantly to the later developments within ‘The Method’ but let’s be clear, he didn’t invent ‘The Method’ he invented ‘The System’.

The amount of Drama Schools and Acting Schools that continuously get this wrong is staggering.

Lee Strasberg invented The Method.

Not Sanford Meisner, Stella Adler or any other practitioner, which is another common misconception.

The Method is very different from the teachings of Adler, Meisner and Stanislavski.

One of the main differences is the use of Affective Memory. Stanislavski initiated this concept which was later explored more fully by Lee Strasberg.

Affective Memory is the use of the actor’s own personal memories to produce the correct emotional content for a scene.

This tool is only used by Method Actors and is probably one of the most important tools for the actor.

Basically, it ensures that the actor can create emotion on demand. When action is called or when the curtain rises, the actor has emotional memory tools to produce the inspired emotion at will.

Otherwise, the actor is hoping that inspiration will turn up.

I have always been obsessed with developing dependable reliable tools for actors. There is nothing worse than turning up for an acting job and not being able to produce what the Director wants from you emotionally.

A final misconception of The Method is that Method Actors are emotionally out of control. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, they are extremely adept at manipulating their emotions to deliver the correct emotional content for scenes.

Method Acting courses cover this important acting tool within the method acting training.

One aspect that actors need to understand when starting a career in acting is that it is a business. We spend a lot of time and creativity perfecting our acting abilities to a top level, so we owe it to ourselves to be just as creative within the business of acting.

The problem is that the business and creative side often clash. Actors are artistic people and are not generally best suited to business. But it happens to be the best way to get your work seen.

As much as I loathe the celebrity media actors, we could learn a thing or two from some of the professionals in this arena.

Let’s take Jordan aka Katie Price and Peter Andre.

Ok, I know I might lose you here, but try and stick with this for a moment.

Some may say they have no real talent to talk of, are pretty shallow and are not the most intelligent people (I will come to that in a minute).

But, and this is a big but. They are never out of the media and they are making a fortune. Now that’s clever!

Katie Price is outstanding at the business of showbusiness. Like her or loathe her, that is a fact.

She dominates all the trashy media. You may think that is easy, but it’s probably not as easy as you think.

Now, if you are a talented actor and actually have something to shout about, you owe it to yourself and to society to get that talent seen. We need more outstanding actors with the ability to touch us, move us, make comments on our society and make a difference on a deep level.

Good knows we need something to balance out the Katie Prices and the Big Brother evictees.

Education on the business of acting is the essential ingredient missing from the mainstream drama school training and other acting courses and acting classes.

This is something I teach my students on my acting courses, as I feel I owe it to them to give them the best possible chance of success in this business.

So, no matter what acting training, acting classes or acting courses you end up doing, make sure they teach you how to get work at the end of it and how to get your work seen.

Becoming an actor isn’t as easy as it may seem. In today’s celebrity crazy media, it may seem like anyone can become an actor and that you don’t need to do much to become one. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Here is the thing. It’s easy to become a mediocre or a bad actor, but to become an excellent actor takes time, commitment and perseverance.

All the top actors you may care to mention studied acting and studied it in detail. They all attended acting courses and acting classes, usually for some years.

Let me ask you a question. If you were going to become an accountant, would you try to do a set of company accounts before you learned accounting. No, of course not, and acting is no different.

It’s a skill that has to be learned.

The good news is that it is a skill, and therefore there is a process that can be followed to achieve a high level of ability.

The acting approach that I specialise in teaching is Method Acting.

Method Acting is used by all the top actors you may care to mention, and is the most successful acting technique in the world.

All the top actors have learned this technique to take their acting skills to a top professional level. Not just to achieve ‘ok’ or ‘alright’ acting, but exceptional acting.

Have a look at Senn Penn’s work. Good or brilliant? He is a Method Actor.

How about Al Pacino. Good or Brilliant? He is a Method Actor.

Daniel Day-Lewis? Good or Brilliant? He is a Method Actor.

I could go on, because there is a very, very long list of outstanding actors who went to Method Acting Schools and Method Acting Coaches.

Al Pacino still takes method acting lessons with a method acting teacher.

The message here is that if you are serious about becoming a truly outstanding actor, you need to learn the best technique. Then once you’re brilliant artistically, you need to get good at the business of acting and that’s a whole other discussion.

The first step is to start learning The Method.

Getting cast for a major film role takes a combination of talent, business know-how, persistence and the right mental attitude. Actually, you might be surprised to learn that your mental attitude is at least 50% of the winning mixture.

You don’t get many drama schools or acting schools teaching you that (apart from mine of course at Brian Timoney Acting) but it is true.

How do I know it’s true?

If we look at any field of endeavor where people succeed, there is always a specific mental approach to achieving success.

They tend to be persistent. They will continue until they have achieved what they set out to achieve no matter what obstacles they encounter on the way.

They have self-belief. They truly believe in their heart of hearts that they can achieve their acting goals.

They also tend to be people you want to hang out with. They have an optimistic and positive outlook. Who wants to hang out with negative, pessimistic people? Well, if you happen to be like that yourself, then that could be your crowd. But beware, this generally also tends to also be an unsuccessful crowd due to their negative beliefs.

Many successful actors have demonstrated these traits. Harrison Ford was once told by a big movie producer during an audition that he would never make it as an actor… the producer later ate his words.

During my acting courses, I make sure that we cover this area. The art of acting is crucial, but so is the business side of acting, which requires the traits that I have mentioned.

If you are not achieving the acting success you would like, you need to look at yourself and how the world around you is reacting to you. You may be surprised that perhaps the biggest obstacle to being cast in a major movie is YOU!

But the good news is that you can change your outlook and approach. It’s learnable and do-able.

Oh, and one last thought. Never blame anyone else for not getting the break. It’s not the industry’s fault, it’s not another actor’s fault or your parents fault. The results are down to you.

That’s another trait of successful actors. They take responsibility.

But what is responsibility? Well, it’s your ability to respond. Response-ability.

Take charge and control, and believe you can achieve your acting goals.

As a method acting coach, I am often asked this question. The thing is, there has been so much reported on the technique, that it can be hard for the untrained eye to understand what the approach is all about.

Many years ago I was discussing this with my old mentor who described it as ‘the reality of truth brought into performance’.

Nice quote, but how on earth is this achieved?

Well, in the main, the actor has to do a challenging acting training which involves acting courses focused on bringing the authentic ‘you’ into your work.

Many people think that Method Acting is all about being ‘natural’. This isn’t quite true. It’s all about being ‘real’. Ellen Burstyn, co-president of the Actors Studio in New York, described the difference between being ‘natural’ and being ‘real’ as the same as being ‘asleep’ and being ‘awake’ respectively.

When aspiring actors go to drama school or acting school in the UK, they are predominately taught a technical approach, an approach that is focused on representing the truth rather than recreating it for real.

The Method is about recreating the reality of real life as accurately as possible. It is about capturing humanity in its fullest, most expressive form and turning it into a piece of theatre or a film.

The Method also takes no prisoners. It’s not the easiest of techniques, but then again, most things in life that are worth having don’t come easy. They generally require hard work, but the rewards are there for those who are willing to commit themselves.

Method acting classes bring together the inner emotions and experiences of characters together with the external elements. By ‘external’ I mean, predominately, how the character walks and talks.

Some say that The Method is an emotion-only technique, but that’s untrue. This sort of opinion is usually propagated by people untrained in the technique who form their own opinion based on limited knowledge.

The Method covers all the acting bases and is about creating full and varied characters which are grounded in reality.

If you are someone who is obsessed with acting excellence, then there is only one technique to consider.. and that’s Method Acting.

As a serious Method Acting Coach, you may be surprised to know that I went to see the new film by Sacha Baron Cohen, ‘Bruno’.

Myself and my wife Natalie went along for a good laugh, and we weren’t disappointed. But let me warn you, if you’re easily offended or of a delicate disposition, then it may not be for you!

I have always been intrigued by Mr Cohen’s work because there is something very Method about it.

Yes, it’s high comedy, but the Method is used by many a great comedy actor, including Gene Wilder.

Now, I know that Mr Cohen probably won’t say he is a Method Actor, and he probably hasn’t had a method acting training, but let me explain where the similarities are.

He creates characters that are utterly believable. They may be extreme, but he can fool everyone around him. The people that come into contact with him who don’t know he is acting are completely convinced. To the point where he can create bizarre comic moments because the people involved REALLY believe that is him. Of course, eventually he pushes too far and they walk off.

But the creation of such convincing characters is the forte of the Method Actor. They also tend to test these characters out on the public. Robert De Niro, when he created the character of Travis Bickle on Taxi Driver, spent a month driving a New York cab to understand the world of his character. Daniel Day-Lewis goes out in public and tests his characters out with those around him.

This is a great test. If people in real life are convinced by you, then you’re on the right track. With my students, as part of my acting courses, I sometimes ask them to go and do a scene in a real restaurant, art gallery or public place, and see how the people around them react. Are they convinced?

Also, there is something else about Mr Cohen’s work. I believe there is a very talented serious actor in there too. There are a few fleeting moments in the film which are touching. But it was enough for me to see that he has the ability and potential.

The big message from all this is that being believable doesn’t always mean being subtle. It means being believable. It’s a fine line, but the boundaries must be tested.

During your own acting classes, test your believability. Ask your peers if they truly believed what they saw… if they say yes you’re on the right track.

If you have ever been on an acting course and you have felt self-conscious and self-aware, then don’t worry, you’re not alone.

Many actors experience this. It’s called Stage Fright. There are varying degrees, but in essence, that is what it is.

What you may not know is that there is a technique that was developed 60 years ago to eradicate the actor of these fears before performance. It’s called The Method.
The way that this is achieved is through special relaxation techniques and concentration on specific life events.

When an actor experiences stage fright, his mind is focused on not messing up. He/ she wants to get it right. The irony is that if you are focused on this, then you’re not focused on the characters’ needs and wants, and this causes the actor to freeze up.

During a Method Acting Training, the actor is taught how to fully relax during acting classes on technique, and then shown how to focus and concentrate on activities and events that distract the mind from personal fear of failure.

This is one way that Method Acting can improve your performance, but there are many others.

If you need to create ‘emotion on demand’ then The Method is invaluable.

Picture the scene…

You’re on the set of Casualty or ER, and the Director wants you to burst into tears, as your wife/ husband/ boyfriend/ girlfriend has just popped their clogs on the operating table.

He wants you to burst into tears in about 2.5 minutes once the lights and cameras and sound are in position.

The question is, can you do it? You should be able to do it. Directors want and need actors who can do it.

The Method Actor can do this at will, on demand, time after time. During their acting training, they develop a tool called Emotional Memory which produces the emotion they want.

I could go on, as there are dozens of tools and techniques used by the Method Actor to produce real, in-depth, gritty believable performances consistently.
The question is, what kind of actor do you want to be?