Did you know that Al Pacino was a superintendent before he became an actor?
This is what he said about it:
“I was making 14 dollars a week. Every time, I’d get it and spend it in three and a half minutes. I would have a couple of quarts of ale and nothing else mattered. I remember sitting on the edge of my bed in this tiny room I was living in thinking, what am I going to do?”
Can you imagine what Al must have been thinking?
He was dragging himself in to do a job that he didn’t want to do, counting down the minutes to clocking off time and then sitting by himself in his little bedsit (which most probably was not in a great area) drinking to cheer himself up. He must have been quite depressed.
Al Pacino with Brian Timoney
This is a creative man and he was doing something against his nature and getting paid a pittance for it.
The day must have come when he sat on his bed and decided to change his situation. He got to the point where enough is enough and took action to do the thing he was born to do – act.
Al decided to learn Method Acting.
As you may know, Method Acting is used by Hollywood’s acting elite including Daniel Day-Lewis, Bradley Cooper, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Angelina Jolie Pitt and Scarlett Johansson, to name a few. In fact, 80% of Best Actor Oscar winners since the year 2000 are method actors.
Some would argue that Al became the greatest method actor ever.
It didn’t happen overnight. He trained and studied acting like a demon and built his ability into something truly impressive.
Now instead of making $14 a week, he makes upwards of $11 million a movie.
What made the difference?
He got up from the edge of his bed and took action to make his dream a reality.
If you would like to do the same then I have a mega easy first step for you.
I have put together a FREE online video Method Acting course that lasts seven days. To get your hands on it, all you need to do is fill in the form below and follow the instructions:
Brian Timoney
*Not endorsed by Al Pacino.
Did you know that Al Pacino was a superintendent before he became an actor?
This is what he said about it:
“I was making 14 dollars a week. Every time, I’d get it and spend it in three and a half minutes. I would have a couple of quarts of ale and nothing else mattered. I remember sitting on the edge of my bed in this tiny room I was living in thinking, what am I going to do?”
Can you imagine what Al must have been thinking?
He was dragging himself in to do a job that he didn’t want to do, counting down the minutes to clocking off time and then sitting by himself in his little bedsit (which most probably was not in a great area) drinking to cheer himself up. He must have been quite depressed.
Al Pacino with Brian Timoney
This is a creative man and he was doing something against his nature and getting paid a pittance for it.
The day must have come when he sat on his bed and decided to change his situation. He got to the point where enough is enough and took action to do the thing he was born to do – act.
Al decided to learn Method Acting.
As you may know, Method Acting is used by Hollywood’s acting elite including Daniel Day-Lewis, Bradley Cooper, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Angelina Jolie Pitt and Scarlett Johansson, to name a few. In fact, 80% of Best Actor Oscar winners since the year 2000 are method actors.
Some would argue that Al became the greatest method actor ever.
It didn’t happen overnight. He trained and studied acting like a demon and built his ability into something truly impressive.
Now instead of making $14 a week, he makes upwards of $11 million a movie.
What made the difference?
He got up from the edge of his bed and took action to make his dream a reality.
If you would like to do the same then I have a mega easy first step for you.
I have put together a FREE online video Method Acting course that lasts seven days. To get your hands on it, all you need to do is fill in the form below and follow the instructions:
Brian Timoney
*Not endorsed by Al Pacino.
Today marks the first anniversary of the tragic and premature death from a drug overdose of master of the Method, Philip Seymour Hoffman.
If it is true, as Richard Brody writes in The New Yorker, that:
“Work that’s only good is limited to its technique; when it’s great, a work is virtually inseparable from the artist’s life because it gives the sense of being the product of a whole life and being the absolute and total focus of that life at the time of its creation.”
Then Hoffman was a true great. He clearly summoned memory and experience into his roles with spine-tingling authenticity. He was a character actor who eschewed the vanities of the leading man in favour of authentic and challenging parts. The humanity with which he portrayed literary icons, oddballs or ‘belligerent assholes‘, ‘snivelling wretches, insufferable prigs, braggarts and outright bullies’ was transformative.
“he could nail a part in one punch, summoning the richness of an entire life in the smallest gesture.”
Of his 63 screen credits, we have chosen his five most powerful performances:
Freddie Miles, The Talented Mr Ripley (1999)
As pompous Freddie Miles in Anthony Minghella’s The Talented Mr Ripley, Hoffman employed the full bluntness of his physical instrument to become the unwelcome intruder to Matt Damon’s schemes. His entrance to the film is one of the great arrivals in cinematic history – the way he leapt from his Alpha Romeo, kissed Jude Law’s character and threw back a glass of wine set the bar for the rest of the film. In a role that Meryl Streep described as ‘fearless’, Hoffman’s technical ease and nuance made even the most cruel and awful character fascinating and compelling.
Truman Capote, Capote (2005)
“Hoffman relinquished himself to his characters”
In the role that won him his Best Actor Academy Award, Hoffman was exemplary as author Truman Capote during his In Cold Blood era. His physical fit was not a natural choice for the part, but true to his method style, he transformed himself to inhabit the wry and high-pitched wit of the author in body and voice.
Caden Cotard, Synedoche, New York (2008)
Philip Seymour Hoffman dominated Synedoche, New York with what Ryan Gilbey described as his “towering accomplishment.” Hoffman plays a theatre director who attempts to stage a detailed version of his own life in a warehouse in New York. In the way that a model of reality eventually becomes reality in the film, many have found a metaphor for the blurred lines between the tragedies of Hoffman’s life and his obsessively method approach to acting.
Lancaster Todd, The Master (2012)
Described by Richard Brody as ‘one of the greatest onscreen performances that anyone ever gave’, Hoffman’s work in The Master marked the climactic end of a long-term collaboration with director Paul Thomas Anderson. They worked together a total of six times since their first collaboration on Punch Drunk Love in 1996, on all but one of Anderson’s films, and enjoyed an extremely creative and fruitful partnership. Anderson recognised Hoffman’s talent from the off, commenting that when they first worked together:
“Phil maybe had a long list of not-so-great movies [at that point] but he was always the best thing in them.”
In The Master, Hoffman plays Lancaster Todd, the charismatic leader of scientology-like cult The Cause. The character himself is a self-conscious and self-transforming performer, which allowed Hoffman to use his unique theatrical style to the full. The role was made for a method performer like him.
“who he is and the way he is, the internal life of the guy, is something I had to think a lot about by myself. It’s not that I wanted to avoid reference points; it’s just the way I tend to do things.”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, talking to Little White Lies about Lancaster Todd
Günther Bachmann, A Most Wanted Man (2014)
His Director on his last film A Most Wanted Man, Anton Corbijn, told the Guardian that Hoffman has Brando-like quality to his work, and that:
“He is better than you think you are going to be able to see. He becomes the character so totally that he inhabits the person, with every waking movement, with everything.”
These are but five of many unforgettable performances in a career dedicated to creating believable characters with authenticity and flair. Philip Seymour Hoffman was a master of the method, both on stage and on Broadway, inhabiting every character he played with a haunting truth. Many have tried to find answers to the questions surrounding his premature death in his roles. We would just like to pay tribute to a great method actor who is a great loss to the craft.
Which was your favourite performance?
Have Philip Seymour Hoffman’s performances inspired you in method acting? Join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #PhilipSeymourHoffman or on Facebook or Google+.
“Living truthfully under imaginary circumstances”
Sanford Meisner
Sanford Meisner’s definition of acting is a beautiful and profound one, and captures the essence of what we are trying to achieve as method actors. To bring truth and authenticity to an imaginary performance is the holy grail for every actor. The ultimate question, which sets us all on the path of discovery as an actor, is ‘how do you achieve this?’
The Reality of Truth in Performance
“The work of Stanislavsky and the Moscow Art theatre had convinced me that acting was the art of living on stage…But the ultimate question remained. How do you accomplish this?”
Lee Strasberg
Writers, theorists, critics and actors from Stanislavski to present day have asked the same question – how to bring a character to life in a way that is authentic. Lee Strasberg, the supremo ‘Method Man,’ identified the solution to the problem by asking ‘what would I do if I were in this situation?’ So your character falls in love overnight. Have you been in love? What did it feel like? What did you do?
You must do whatever it takes to believe that you are experiencing your character’s story arc. Only once you believe it, will the audience.
“The actor must see through the lens of the belief system of the character as created by the writer, and breathe life into it by rooting emotionally in his or her body, not head.”
This approach requires you to think about what techniques it will take to change your behaviour to adopt that of your character. It is a leap, and not all of us make it successfully. There are a series of tried and tested method acting techniques that, once they become second nature, will help you make the leap every time.
“Your acting technique should be hidden”
Make the Leap – Live Truthfully in Imaginary Circumstances
What do you do if the character’s experience is so far removed from your own that you find it difficult to relate? The trick is to find assimilation in emotions. While you might not be able to relate to a man shackled by a barbaric class system, for example, you have surely felt anger in your life? Channel that to summon the burning rage the character feels at his situation, albeit alien to you. This is what Vakhtangov was doing by ‘creating belief’ for himself.
To find out more about how to use your full wheel of emotion, click here.
Method acting is about bringing truth and reality into imaginary circumstance with tried and tested exercises and practical ways to train the senses and expand your inner resources. If you would like to know more about these techniques, read my other blog articles or pick up a copy of my new book, The Ultimate Guide to Method Acting.
So what is the answer to the ultimate question of how to live truthfully in imaginary circumstances? Train in method acting!
Happy New Year!
We hope that you all had a festive and relaxing Christmas, and are raring to go for 2015!
The arrival of January can mean only one thing for the cream of the acting crop – awards season! With the Golden Globes just around the corner (11th January) and the Screen Actors Guild Awards (25th January), BAFTAs (8th February) and Oscars (February 22nd) following soon after, we thought we would share with you our picks for the top acting awards this year.
Method actors have won 80% of Best Actor Oscars since the year 2000. Could we see another master of the method prevail this year?
Battle of the Brits – Awards Season 2015
In 2012, Ian McKellen declared that “there will be no more British acting greats.” The healthy British contingent in this year’s awards fields suggests otherwise. We are very proud to see the acting categories both at home and across the pond well populated with some great British acting talent.
The Best Actor award at all three major ceremonies could turn into a battle of the Brits, with Eddie Redmayne, Benedict Cumberbatch, Timothy Spall and David Oyelowo all likely to be nominated for their unforgettable performances as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything, Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, JMW Turner in Mr Turner and Dr. Martin Luther King in Selma, respectively. Not to mention young British talent Jack O’Connell’s breakthrough performances this year in Unbroken and ’71.
This could be the first time that Brit actors have dominated the Best Actor Oscar field.
Our Pick: On a par with Daniel Day-Lewis’s transformation as Christy Brown in My Left Foot, Eddie Redmayne’s very method approach to portraying Stephen Hawking meant that he was able to inhabit the physicality and character of a well-known figure with complete authenticity. He has already taken home the Golden Globe & SAG Awards, he is our tip to sweep the board!
“Should Redmayne prevail on the night, no one will be surprised except the man himself”
Backstage
There could be a strong British showing in the Best Actress field, too. Felicity Jones’s portrayal of Stephen Hawking’s wife, Jane, in The Theory of Everything has made people sit up and take notice and marks the pinnacle of a steady rise from child-star. Backstage wrote that her meticulous preparation facilitated a performance that “captures both a raw vulnerability and a reticent but indelible strength.”
There is also a lot of buzz around Rosamund Pike’s career-catapulting role in Gone Girl. Keira Knightley’s top form opposite Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game gives her a strong chance of joining the field this season, too. Veteran of awards success Dame Helen Mirren and newcomer Gugu Mbatha-Raw are outsiders with their films The Hundred-Foot Journey and Belle.
Our Pick: If it’s going to be a British actress that takes away the big prizes, we would put our money on Rosamund Pike for “Gone Girl”. All odds at the moment, though, are on Julianne Moore to steal the show, considering the deafening awards buzz around her role as a renowned linguistics professor struggling with early onset Alzheimer’s in “Still Alice.”
What have been your memorable acting performances of 2014? Who should be acknowledge in Awards Season 2015? Is there a lesser-known actor that you deem worthy of an award?
UPDATE Monday 9th January 2015:
BAFTA AWARDS 2015 Winners (2.8.2015): The acting nods were handed out as most of us expected, with our Brit pick Eddie Redmayne triumphing again in the Best Actor category, and Julianne Moore (Still Alice), J.K. Simmons (Whiplash) and Patricia Arquette (Boyhood) taking home the other three top prizes. Emerging British talent Jack O’Connell was honoured by the public with the the EE Rising Star Award. Only the Oscars to go now. Will Eddie Redmayne complete the set?
SAG AWARDS 2015 Winners: Brit Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) became the favourite for an Oscar by taking home the award for Best Actor in a leading role. In an emotional acceptance speech, he paid tribute to his fellow nominees, as well as overlooked British actors David Oyelowo and Timothy Spall. He dedicated the award to sufferers of ALS and those that helped him find truth in his performance as Stephen Hawking. Eddie is on the march! British period drama Downton Abbey proved its acting clout across the pond by taking home the award for best ensemble cast in a television drama.
OSCARS 2015 Nominations (1.15.2015): Some surprises as usual, but a very strong British showing in the Oscars nominations! Felicity Jones and Rosamund Pike both secured nominations for Best Actress for their performances in The Theory of Everything and Gone Girl, respectively. They go head-to-head with powerful method actors Julianne Moore (Still Alice) and Marion Cotillard (Two Days, One Night). Keira Knightley was nominated for her role in The Imitation Game in the Best Supporting Actress category. It wasn’t surprising to see Golden Globe winner Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) nominated in the Best Actor category, and it looks like only Michael Keaton (Birdman) stands in the way of him securing the double. Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game) joins him, but unfortunately Brits David Oyelowo (Selma) and Timothy Spall (Mr. Turner) were once again overlooked in a very competitive field. For the full list of nominations, click here.
GOLDEN GLOBES 2015 Winners (1.11.2015): We were delighted to see Eddie Redmayne take home the Best Actor in a Drama at the Golden Globes last night for his role in Theory of Everything. Well deserved! It was also great to see British Actresses Joanne Froggatt and Ruth Wilson have their great work in television recognised across the pond. For a full list of winners, click here.
EE BAFTA AWARDS 2015 Nominations (1.9.2015): There were a few surprises here, as British actors Timothy Spall (Mr Turner) and David Oyelowo (Selma) were both snubbed on home turf in the major acting categories, while Ralph Fiennes (Grand Budapest Hotel) bagged an unexpected Best Actor nomination. Eddie Redmayne (Theory of Everything) and Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game) join him, as expected, and Felicity Jones (Theory of Everything) and Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) secured another nomination each in the Best Actress field. There is a strong British presence in the Best Supporting Actress field, too, with Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game) and Imelda Staunton (Pride) both nominated. Emerging British talents Jack O’Connell (Unbroken, ’71) and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle) are in the running for the EE Rising Star award, voted for by the public. For a full list of the nominations, click here.
“At times I thought he was me”
When talking about his portrayal of renowned scientist Stephen Hawking in the upcoming Oscar contender The Theory of Everything, Eddie Redmayne encapsulates the essence of a tried and tested method acting technique – saturation.
While he had some documentary evidence and a short audience with Hawking himself to work with, the task of characterising our most famous scientist’s steady physical transformation and filling in the blanks with authenticity fell to Eddie Redmayne.
His total immersion in the character allowed him to use his unconscious to leave himself behind and became Stephen Hawking. Saturation is at the heart of his transformative and brilliant performance, and is why he is being tipped for the Best Actor Oscar in February.
The Unconscious
“What you are looking to do is immerse yourself in the role and feed your unconscious with as much information, detail and creativity as possible, so that the mind can fantasise and make imaginary leaps when you are performing.”
The Ultimate Guide to Method Acting
“Imaginary leaps” can be the difference between a good performance and a great one. If you can make these leaps, you’ll find that you can deliver a performance that is authentic, believable and unconscious.
Russian theatre director Yevgeny Vakhtangov was a great advocate for allowing the unconscious to do most of the hard work. He wrote that if you can feel the role, dream and fantasise about it, an authentic performance will appear on stage unconsciously.
It is important to allow your unconscious to play with the development of a character. You can saturate yourself in character in a number of ways.
Start by collecting paintings or photographs of what you think your character looks like, where they live, clothing you think they would wear, objects they would own. Obviously, this was easier for Eddie Redmayne, as he was able to meet the man he was playing, and watch videos and news reports. He still had to imagine how Hawking would have been prior to his decline to MND, though.
Next, imagine and listen to what music you think they would like, wear the perfume they wear, spend a day as your character, visiting places they would like, meeting people that work in their occupation. All of these things will help your unconscious assimilate with the character, and when you come to performing, it will be less like you are pretending, rather that you are living the role.
What other ways can you think of to saturate yourself with your character?
If you would like to know more about saturation, or any other method acting techniques, please do not hesitate to get in touch, or pick up a copy of my new book, The Ultimate Guide to Method Acting.
The Theory of Everything will be released in UK cinemas on New Year’s Day.
“Actors should…wear a costume, adjust the volume of their voice, achieve physical transformation into the character they portray, allocate their muscular energy efficiently, and model themselves into anything in gesture, voice or musical speech.”
Movement and, unlike our mime artist friend, voice, are important parts of an actor’s training. The body and voice are two parts of the instrument that can be harnessed effectively using tried and tested method acting techniques.
“How you move your body as an actor is one of the most important aspects of the whole job. I’ve devoted a lot of time and energy over the years to exploring all of the tools available to me, whether it’s my voice or body.”
Actor Karl Urban
Body
Does your body express your dramatic intention?
“When you free the body and it starts to work in conjunction with the mind, your whole instrument becomes extremely powerful.”
The Ultimate Guide to Method Acting
We, as actors, place far too much emphasis on what is being said, and not what the body is doing in a scene. I firmly believe that effective control and expression of the body is fundamental to outstanding acting.
“The body can tell a story without any dialogue at all.”
The mind and the body are inextricably linked, and many believe that it is the mind that leads the body. Everything that has ever happened to you, your history, all of your experiences, emotions and traumas are stored in the bones, muscles and cells of your body. This affects the way you walk, move, your posture and your gestures.
To authentically play a character, therefore, you must change your physicality by identifying your physical habits and neutralising them. In my studio, I ask my students to observe each other as they walk across a room, and comment on their physical traits.
“Tension closes the instrument down”
The Ultimate Guide to Method Acting
To find character, and accurately portray them, you must find their history. Getting in tune with the body, and freeing your instrument allows you to find that history, and authentically portray it.
Voice
“An actor’s voice should be a versatile and imaginative instrument capable of underpinning any performance”
Ellen Newman
Do you realise that you probably only use 10% of your vocal range and quality on a daily basis? To progress as an actor, you need to learn to expand your voice beyond day-to-day use.
Many aspiring actors aren’t interested in stagecraft. Most are focused entirely on the screen – big or small. But most, if not all outstanding screen actors of the day started on stage, and that is where they learnt to harness their voice. Your acting will ultimately suffer if you bypass an apprenticeship on the stage.
Having said that, voice work is not just about projection. It is about learning to express yourself through your voice.
“Can you say the word ‘love’ and fill it with the sound of love? Can you say the word ‘angry’ and fill it with rage?”
The Ultimate Guide to Method Acting
Once again, you must learn to ‘free’ your voice. Think of it like an instrument, with a variety of sounds and notes, and try to make music!
Want to know more about using your body and voice in your acting? Why not pick up one of my teaching materials?
“It’s your own self-serving stuff that gets in the way. You get out of the way of yourself to be able to express what it really is. It’s all about getting back to being free of yourself.”
Where a painter has a paintbrush, a violinist has a violin, you, as an actor, have yourself – your instrument.
Do you remember how free you were as a child? You would let your body, mind and mouth run free without concern for how you were perceived, without reserve or inhibition. Your body, your instrument, was free.
Locking It Up
Children have no problem expressing themselves. They have no trouble letting you know how they feel or using their imagination, and they do both with enviable gusto.
At some point in our lives, as we make the transition from child to teenager, teenager to adult, we lose this precious ability. First, our parents start to tell us not to be ‘silly’, school-friends and peers mock us for believing in Santa Claus, and self-consciousness sets in with a vengeance.
Unwittingly, we start to impose shackles on our acting instrument. Freeing that instrument when you reach adulthood and embark on an acting career is one of the greatest challenges for any aspiring actor. An actor must go through a reconditioning process, to rekindle their imagination and learn how to express a full spectrum of emotions all over again.
It may seem like a contradiction, but before you can master your instrument, you must first set it free. Method acting techniques are your best tools.
Freeing Your Instrument
“You must allow yourself to feel free and express ALL the time. If you don’t, your bad habits will run riot and destroy your performance when you go on stage or set.”
The Ultimate Guide to Method Acting
To start the reconditioning process, you must ask yourself 3 questions on a daily basis:
- How do I feel right now?
- How am I expressing myself?
- Could I express myself more?
Just as few of us use the full breathing capacity of our lungs, most of us use only a fraction of our expressive ability. Asking yourself these questions, and adopting a more conscious approach to self expression will help your reach the outer edges of your expressive spectrum. It’s all about learning to express yourself to the full in a variety of situations.
Scream, shout, cry, laugh, punch, kick – Let it out!
As you begin to express yourself to the full, you will begin to realise how much you have suppressed, and you’ll probably feel happier, too.
There are a series of method acting exercises that can help you free your instrument even further. Some of these have been covered in my blog, but if you would like to read more about freeing your instrument, or any other aspect of training in method acting, pick up a copy of my new book, the first ultimate guide to method acting.
As if the BFI “Birth of the Method” screenings throughout October and November weren’t enough of a treat for anyone interested in method acting, they have more in store for us at the end of the month! On 27th November, gifted veteran director of the method generation, Jack Garfein, will be in person and in conversation at the BFI Southbank.
Reflecting on a life in a concentration camp, training as an actor at Lee Strasberg’s Actor’s Studio and working with Hollywood legends like Marilyn Monroe and James Dean, Czech-born Garfein will talk in detail to film archivist, author, historian and programmer Clyde Jeavons about the Method and the legendary talent it created.
Who is Jack Garfein?
“Holocaust films? Pah! They’re awful. They always show the horror, not the human element.”
Such is Jack Garfein’s commitment to exploring the emotions and motivations of character in his work as a director of the method.
Jack Garfein was born in the Carpathian Mountains of Slovakia in 1931. At 13, he was sent with his family to Auschwitz. As the only survivor of his family, he travelled to New York shortly after the war and began his life in drama. Despite knowing no English, and with fees paid for by the United Jewish Appeal, he studied at Lee Strasberg’s Actor’s Studio, the breeding ground for the “Italian street actors” Brando, Newman and Pacino.
In 1951, he joined Elia Kazan’s recently-formed Actors Studio as a director, and made his Broadway debut in 1953 with End as a Man. He made two acclaimed films soon after – The Strange One and Something Wild – and launched the careers of actors such as Ben Gazzara and Carroll Baker (whom he later married).
Garfein was no stranger to the stars of the Method. He was on first name terms with Hollywood legends Marilyn Monroe and James Dean, and produced two Arthur Miller plays.
“I had a wonderful relationship with him [Arthur Miller]. We spent a lot of time talking about divorces”
Showing no signs of abandoning the craft to which he dedicated his fortunate life, Garfein still teaches acting in New York and Paris at the ripe old age of 84.
How Do I Attend?
Jack Garfein joins the BFI in person on Thursday 27th November at the BFI Southbank at 6.20pm. Tickets can be purchased online here.
Get in quick, we think this will be a very popular one! Go along and hear tales of life in a concentration camp, a voyage to a new life, and training and working with some of Hollywood’s greatest actors, producers and directors, as well as insights and advice on method acting, and what it take to make it in this industry.
Would you like to follow in Jack Garfein’s footsteps and train in the Method? We are the UK’s leading method acting school, and offer a range of courses to suit all needs, budgets and time commitments.
Please get in touch!