When you picture method acting, you probably think about suffering. You see flashes of emaciated bodies, like Christian Bale's after his extreme transformation for his role in The Machinist. Maybe you picture Heath Ledger locked in his hotel room to drive himself mad for his iconic turn as The Joker. The truth is more complicated — and, though it's much less extreme, it's no less ominous. Also known as simply "the method," this acting technique has long been regarded as mysterious, dangerous, and — in some corners of Hollywood mythology — even deadly. But it's not for the reasons you think.

RELATED: For Better or Worse, Marlon Brando's Role in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ Popularized Method Acting

Who Invented Method Acting?

Christian Bale in 'The Machinist'
Image via Paramount Vantage

In the early 1900s, a Russian theater director named Konstantin Stanislavski wanted to make his practice into a measured methodology. Combining techniques from different theaters and companies, Stanislavski called it "the system" — experiencing the role rather than simply representing it. In other words, a complicated and lengthy system was developed to allow the actor to derive emotion and power from their own experiences rather than through the false experiences their characters hold. (Interestingly, this was in contrast to other theatrical work at the time, which was more traditional.) This, Stanislavski seems to have thought, would in turn activate the emotional sides of us that we cannot directly control — therefore making performances more realistic. The system, however, was not — contrary to popular belief — the method. Instead, the method was born out of the system.

When performers from Russia toured the United States, they were surprised to find a lot of interest in their new way of acting. Deciding to capitalize on this, a few of Stanislavski's students moved across the globe, opening the American Laboratory Theatre, where they began to teach. These new students —those taking classes from Stanislavski's students — would be the ones to revolutionize acting with their "method." Three became preeminent names in the teaching of acting: Stella Adler, Lee Strasberg, and Sanford Meisner. Each would go on to define "the method" in their own way, through their own individual techniques and emphases — though only two, Strasberg and Adler, would become the method's most prominent devotees. In this way, the modern version of "the method" is really more "three methods" — distilled and pruned versions of the original "system," all designed to get an actor closer to the emotional truth of their character.

The Difference Between Lee Strasberg and Stella Adler's Methods

dont-bother-to-knock-marilyn-monroe
Image Via 20th Century Fox

Though they founded The Actor's Group together, Stella Adler and Lee Strasberg, now considered two of the most famous acting coaches ever eventually split — and it was all over "the method." In order to train the likes of Marlon Brando and Robert De Niro, Adler employed techniques taught to her by Stanislavski, emphasizing "given circumstances" — meaning she wanted her students to draw their performances not from their own experiences, but from their imaginations. By contrast, Lee Strasberg — whose students included Al Pacino and Marilyn Monroe —seemed determined to mine the emotional side of the system for his method, emphasizing the practice of drawing on one's own experiences to portray a character. Because we are not actors but human beings, Strasberg argued, the most natural performance could only come from a natural expression of emotion. Of this, Stella Adler said, "Drawing on the emotions I experienced — for example, when my mother died — to create a role is sick and schizophrenic. If that is acting, I don't want to do it." Even so, we now seem to view Strasberg's emphasis as closest to what "the method" is — which may be why it's so controversial today.

Method Acting Can Affect the Mental Wellbeing of Actors

Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York
Image via Miramax

Though the method doesn't necessarily call for bodily changes, that doesn't mean it's without danger. Following Strasberg's method — leaning into your real experiences — can cause actors to relive traumatic experiences or feel unable to leave a traumatic memory. It's something that student Marilyn Monroe experienced as well. Michael Kahn, a director who trained under Strasberg, said that in order to work with him one would need to go to "the darkest places of yourself — and that Marilyn "had enough things to think about.” Actor Micheal B. Jordan had to undergo therapy after going method for his villainous role in Black Panther, and Kate Winslet had a crisis after playing a Nazi guard. It's not only mental — physical problems can result from method acting as well. Perhaps the best example of this is method acting king Daniel Day-Lewis. While filming Gangs of New York, he refused to wear an insulated coat, resulting in pneumonia. But perhaps the most unexplored part of the method's problematic history is its tendency to skew white. As Jeanine T. Abraham, an entertainment writer and actor, asks: Would Terrence Howard, Taraji Henderson, and Anthony Anderson be able to stay in character off-set — a strategy many method actors employ — for Hustle & Flow? The question is especially relevant when one considers where method acting is today.

Method Acting Has a Whole New Meaning Today

Jared Leto as Joker in Suicide Squad (2016)
Image via Warner Bros. Discovery

In the modern world of method acting, we seem to think accessing our own experiences means we need to create that experience for ourselves. Some actors are no longer simply accessing the emotions of their characters through their own emotions — they're carrying out their character's actions. This leads to things like Jared Leto delivering condoms to his coworkers as The Joker. a performance that was critically panned. The real issue, though, remains psychological. As we become more aware of our mental health, questions continue to pop up about the effectiveness and safety of method acting. Just take this Atlantic article, in which an acting student describes being forced to struggle out of the arms of another student — who was then told to hold her to his chest as she attempted to do so.

Plenty of actors have, in fact, spoken out against method acting. Sebastian Stan called it "narcissistic" and "selfish," while Will Poulter calls it an excuse for bad behavior. The death of Heath Ledger has been attributed to method acting as well, but this is mostly legend. It is true, though, that he said the process was harsh. Ledger isolated himself, lost sleep, and even developed health problems during the process to get into character. It's clear that "the method," however disputed its definition might be, is a flawed system that has resulted in some great performances as well as some great pains. The only question now is: Is it worth it?