Topline
Amid a slew of allegations of physical and emotional abuse against romantic partners and toxicity on film sets, Jonathan Majors’ lawyers say his “Method acting”—an immersive acting process that some swear by, but critics say can be bothersome and disruptive for coworkers—may have been misconstrued as rudeness on film sets.
Jonathan Majors will appear in court in August after being charged with assault and aggravated … [+]
Key Facts
Method acting, also known as “The Method,” based on the early 1900s teachings of Russian director Konstantin Stanislavski and popularized in the United States by director Lee Strasberg, is a technique in which actors “use their physical, mental and emotional self in the creation of a character” to achieve an authentic performance, according to the Lee Strasberg Institute.
Some celebrated Method acting performances include Strasberg student Robert De Niro’s work in Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, for the latter of which he gained 60 pounds to play a retired boxer.
The modern understanding of Method acting has diverted from Stanislavski’s original teachings, according to i-D Magazine, which reported that Method acting is now associated with never breaking character and going to great lengths to fully inhabit characters, which has become popularized by the media.
Some modern Method actors who choose to live as their characters on- and off-camera have garnered criticism for disruptive on-set behavior.
Jared Leto’s Method techniques have frequently made headlines, including an instance while filming Suicide Squad (2016), in which he starred as the Joker, when he sent co-stars Margot Robbie and Viola Davis a live rat and a dead pig, respectively.
Other infamous Method acting techniques include Leonardo DiCaprio sleeping in an animal carcass for The Revenant and Daniel Day-Lewis being pushed around in a wheelchair and spoon-fed by the crew of My Left Foot.
Some non-Method actors who have worked with Method actors say their process makes the work environment more difficult, like Martin Freeman, who called his Man on the Moon co-star Jim Carrey’s Method acting process “self-aggrandizing, selfish” and “narcissistic.”
Chief Critics
In conversation with Jennifer Lopez for the Variety Studio: Actors on Actors series, Robert Pattinson said: “You only ever see people do the Method when they’re playing assholes. You never see someone being lovely to everyone while they’re really deep in character.” Lopez agreed, stating after years of making movies she often can’t wait to go home and let go of her characters. Sebastian Stan said Method acting “reads like an irresponsible, narcissistic thing. It reads like, ‘I’m afraid, and I want to torture everyone else because of it.’” Some have also criticized modern conceptions of Method acting for straying from Stanislavski’s teachings. Jon Bernthal said he doesn’t see the benefit of Method acting, but criticized how far the technique has strayed from Stanislavski’s teachings: “Making everybody call you by your character name and not showering for eight months was not what Stanislavski had in mind with the Method,” he told the Hollywood Reporter last year. Will Poulter criticized actors using Method acting “as an excuse for inappropriate behavior,” stating an actor’s process shouldn’t infringe on other people’s work environment. Jeremy Strong, star of the HBO hit Succession, made headlines for comments from co-workers about his intense process on the set (which he does not consider Method), which Kieran Culkin said “doesn’t help me” and Brian Cox called “f——- annoying,” adding he worries about what it does to him mentally.
Contra
Andrew Garfield defended Method acting last year, stating it is “not about being an asshole to everyone on set. It’s actually just about living truthfully under imagined circumstances.” He criticized misconceptions of Method acting and stated the technique helped him on the 2016 film Silence. Some stars, including Strong and Tony Kushner, defended Method actor Daniel Day-Lewis, who famously goes to great lengths for his roles, both of who worked with him on Lincoln. After a New Yorker article detailing Strong’s immersive acting process went viral, Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway defended his process. “When we talk about process, when we talk about intensity, when we talk about Method, when we talk about all this stuff, it’s all good to me. Nothing ever strikes me as weird,” Hathaway said.
Key Background
Majors, who maintains he is innocent, was arrested in March on charges of strangulation, assault and harassment of a 30-year-old woman, who referred to Majors as her partner in text messages shared with TMZ by Majors’ attorney Priya Chaudry. Multiple alleged abuse victims of Majors have since come forward and cooperated with legal authorities, and Majors was subsequently dropped by talent agency Entertainment 360 and PR firm The Lede Co. He also lost several film roles, including the upcoming film adaptation of the Walter Mosley novel The Man in My Basement, in which he was supposed to star and serve as executive producer, as well as an Otis Redding biopic. Majors appeared in court in June for a hearing in which his trial date was set for August 3. A Rolling Stone investigation published Thursday, based on interviews with more than 40 sources granted anonymity, alleges that Majors physically abused one romantic partner, emotionally abused two romantic partners and treated crew members on film sets poorly. Majors’ attorney denied the allegations raised in the Rolling Stone article. “Everyone who has worked with Mr. Majors knows that he employs an immersive Method acting style, and while that can be misconstrued as rudeness at times, those who know Mr. Majors and work in the industry have attested to his dedication to his craft as well as his kindness,” his lawyer Dustin Pusch told IndieWire.
Further Reading
Police Believe Jonathan Majors’ Assault Accuser Attacked Him, Report Says (Forbes)
Jonathan Majors Allegations: As More Alleged Victims Reportedly Come Forward—Here’s What Roles He’s Lost—And Kept (Including Marvel’s Kang) (Forbes)
Jonathan Majors’ ‘Extreme Abuse’ Allegedly Goes Back Nearly a Decade (Rolling Stone)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/06/30/jonathan-majors-lawyers-say-method-acting-is-to-blame-for-allegedly-violent-on-set-behavior-but-what-is-the-controversial-technique/