Method Man: "You Can Act!" Author Shares What Acting Is, Who He Taught

Method acting. I picture Shatner in deep contemplation wearing a polyester bodysuit. But many of the greats employed it, from Broadway to Hollywood, to tap into their shadows and create believable characters.

The process was introduced to America in the 30s by Sandford Meisner, who adapted it from Konstantin Stanislavsky's methods, and this version is still taught today by D.W. Brown, left, at The Joanne Baron/D.W. Brown Studio.

Acting!

For most non-actors, it's hard to imagine how the process works—to pretend to be someone else. How do you begin the process of making someone an actor? What is it to be an actor?

"The first thing to do in the training of an actor is to free them up and get them back to the way they were as children where they could play pretend without apology," says Brown. "This is done by having them do improvisational exercises where they live out various imaginative circumstances.

"I’ve actually gotten very scientific about what it is to be an actor and in my book, You Can Act!, I break down the various aspects of it: whether it’s the motivations to become an actor (exhibitionism, escapism, adventurousness), the talents required (imagination, killer instinct, passion), or the craft you employ to nurture those talents (concentration, investment, poise)."

Maybe She's Born With It

While the above can be tapped into and learned, Brown admits that certain actors were born with these gifts. "Robin Wright-Penn...I could recognize as a major force right away," he says. "[But] in the majority of cases you really don’t know how someone will blossom until they’ve had a chance to cultivate their talents. I’ve seen so many amazing transformations, really mind blowing transformations…seeds just waiting for some water."

Brown describes the process of teaching acting as opening a door and pointing the way. "Most of what I do in training an actor is to direct their attention to the moments unfolding before them and encourage them to participate actively in fantasy.

"I give them license to be their real selves and not filter or avoid or protect themselves from full contact with the imaginative world. After someone has developed confidence in having their true voice publicly, then comes the artistry of analyzing a script, determining how a part should be played, and then doing those things in rehearsal that will increase the likelihood of it coming off in performance."

You Really Like Me

Even the brightest stars have trouble with confidence. Keanu Reeves successfully played a stoner in 1986's River's Edge, and ever after only seemed to act varying degrees of stoned. Brown helped the pretty boy deliver an award-winning, violent performance without fear of somehow being associated with that repugnant character.

"I worked with Keanu Reeves on The Gift because it was directed by Sam Raimi, who I’ve worked with, and I like to consider him a friend," Brown says. "Keanu had to play a brutal wife-beating redneck and I might have helped him make it more real, and less what we call 'commented on.'

"That is to say, to really employ his real feelings and voice, rather than judging the character and playing him less then fully formed, either out of an unconscious desire that the audience not confuse that he is actually like that repellant person, or simply because it’s fun to act a broad character."

Brown compares actors to athletes who constantly hone their skills, staying limber and gaining strength. The challenge comes when an actor gains some modicum of public presence; they must fearlessly continue to challenge themselves and risk failure. "It’s dare or dwindle, so you either evolve or you stagnate," says Brown. "I think the theater is great for an actor’s development, because you risk exposing your mistakes to a smaller, perhaps more forgiving, audience, yet the potential for growth is enormous."

Brown gives Halle Berry as an example of a huge star—an Oscar winner, no less—who continues to grow, staying true to her craft rather than her fame. "I admire her hugely for doing so and I think this sensibility is largely why she is the major star that she is," he says. 

It's Kramer In There!

Brown enjoys working with the stars because they get interesting, far-reaching projects and have loads of charisma. He admits that he's enjoyed wowing some of his lesser-known students with his high-profile pupils. "Once I was working with Michael Richards on a loud scene at our studio and I had to leave the room for a moment," he shares. "When I stepped into the hall there were all these students outside who had gathered, waiting for class, and the look on their faces, looking at me, because there was no doubt who was in the room I just came out of…it’s Kramer in there!"

Keeping It Old School

Brown asserts that a trained instructor is necessary to learn the craft of acting, and that his book focuses on "how to break down a script and make it come to life once you already have the basic facility to play pretend."

Says Brown: "There’s no book like this that I know of that covers the advanced techniques of script analysis and character interpretation, consistent with Meisner, in this systematic way; nor one that has the volume of essential reference material that I’ve gathered over my 30 years of teaching—whether it’s tips on how to play having a gunshot wound, to finessing comedic material, to doing commentary work."

"We’re old school," he adds.