Why the Oscars love method actors

Almost half of all Best Actor and Actress awards have been won by method actors since 1951.

Method acting's foundational theory originated in the Soviet Union during the early 20th century. It was created by Konstantin Stanislavski and his peers at the Moscow Art Theater as a framework for systematically training young actors. Method acting became influential in the US in the ’30s and ’40s, pioneered by Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, and Sanford Meisner, each of whom transformed and built on Stanislavski’s system.

Today, training in method acting is ubiquitous for aspiring actors. But at the same time, the stakes of method acting continue to rise. First popularized in the US during the 1950s by Marlon Brando's generation of Hollywood stars, method acting continues to be a consistent way for actors to push themselves in new roles. But while method acting won Leonardo DiCaprio his first Oscar for his performance in The Revenant, it's undeniable that the way method acting is promoted is conspicuously marketable. Still, it has undoubtedly led to some of the greatest performances of all time.

[akashkunte]

Heath Ledger's acting in The Dark Knight is unbeatable.

[CallOfPoop]

My favourite actor Christoph Waltz was phenomenal in Inglorious Basterds

[TheSaltyLibrarian]

I'm a bit more cynical. Yeah, method acting has produced some awesome stuff, but I think we're growing obsessed with it for the wrong reasons. Actors are doing it more and more not just to create good performances, but also to display how dedicated and demanding their works is. It's like the more intense they can make the behind the set story, the more we'll take them seriously as ARTISTS and not just movie stars.
All well and good for them, but I think there's also value in acting styles that appear more seamless, like the actor just eases into it without much effort. Sometimes actors get stuck playing a certain type, but lots of others manage to inhabit a role without forcing us to constantly think about how scenes were filmed or how intensely they had to prepare. And I find that impressive as well. I couldn't do that, just slide into a role and read my lines convincingly but with enough charisma to make them stick. On the other hand, if I ate bison liver, I'd puke.

[MrFerenginar]

The Oscars are about narratives. Leo won his Oscar because the campaign behind his movie made it seem overdue and necessary after his previous losses. Matthew McConaughey won because his 'McConaissance' was *the* thing that year. Alicia Vikander was the season's shooting star and she won her award, etc. Studios pump millions into those campaigns and make sure everything is all set for the big night (safe for some Academy wackiness like Mark Rylance's win over Stallone and the likes)

[coletterichardson]

Whilst the performances may end up being incredible, I think it's incredibly detrimental for young actors to have this kind of method (whether or not it's the true definition of method acting is another question) celebrated so highly. Many characters undergo deep emotional, psychological or physical trauma over the course of their journey - thus making the conflict interesting. If you as an actor go to extreme lengths to put yourself in that exact place for authenticity's sake, rather than finding a parallel emotional circumstance, you run the risk of bringing your character home with you and taking on some of that trauma yourself. At the end of the day, each project is just that - a project, and I think that celebrating any kind of method that encourages bringing characters home with you will ultimately result in a public belief that actors are noble for sacrificing their personal health and safety (physical or mental) for a role. A talented actor with strong technique should be able to tell you their story without putting themself in harm's way. As consumers of art, we want longevity for our artists and safety for the human beings behind the art. While connecting to the character is cruical - staying safe is equally as important, and I think that as an artistic community, we need to recognize that.

[PatBatemanAtDorsia]

you obviously haven't seen Tom Cruise in Magnolia, Collateral, Rain Man, Born on The Fourth of July, or even Tropic Thunder. Dude can disappear into a character.

[shreyvaghela]

Morgan freeman is still my favourite . He should’ve got an oscar for shawshank redemption or his epic narration...

[Quares]

Method acting: you should go through me to won an Oscar.

Tom Hanks: hold my bear

[AL-SH]

For me to see Leonardo DiCaprio going through the physical and mental challenges in The Revenant was the closest I had felt to a movie character. I think it's because of what he physically endurred. Staying in character in a sub zero environment with his clothes being entirely wet in several sequences was admirable. Plus Alejandro's choice of natural lighting and his unique method of directing added that extra touch of art.

[vintagesubliminals]

If you wanna see a contrast between method acting and classic acting take a look at A Streetcar Named Desire, it's almost a perfectly divided slate in help of observation of the two acting styles. Take a look at Vivien Leigh's acting and then at Marlon Brando's. You'll see two of the greatest acting moments on screen but see through that, you've heard your whole life about Brando being the greatest but look at Viv, she completely took the cake for me, I've yet to see Bette or Katherine do that kind of acting (I haven't seen all their pictures so that's why I say yet to see)

[ifurkend]

Tom Cruise to me is forever an eccentric Scientolgist.

[BishopVI]

So how is Tom Cruise doing his own stunts not a form of method acting? Its one of the most extreme ways of getting into character by actually jumping of a building to get that same authenticity. This video felt like a wiki video of the superficial aspects of method acting, not on the same level of interesting as Vox's other videos.

[rachmarizky]

I realised Method Acting had become some kind of marketing tool and did not sound so 'respectable' and refined and sophisticated anymore was the moment when the media blew up how Jared Leto dove into method acting for his portrayal of The Joker on Suicide Squad.
I like Leto's performance on Dallas Buyers Club. But bragging about Method Acting the way actors do nowadays is not cool. Just my thought.

[leftyfourguns]

I love how the people doing things for real on camera are awarded as the "best actors", rather than the people who act like they're doing something
They Academy should just automatically give every contestant from Fear Factor an award

[hazmanrostam]

That kid from florida project deservedly so for her oscar worthy performance. It was a huge potential!

[MrTrolleras]

Why eat raw bison liver when you can, well, just act like you did? Doesn't this defeats its purpose?

[dylandubeau]

I don't agree that it's impossible to Tom Cruise as anyone but Tom Cruise. Maybe Oblivion/Last Samurai, sure, but have you seen Magnolia?

[Kwijiboz]

"Method acting is what all actors have always done whenever they acted well."

Lee Strasberg

There you have it, I´ve saved you 4:06 minutes of your life

[rudra]

“it helps leo grows from this (shows titanic) to this (shows revenant)”

arnie grape came before titanic what are you talking about

[matthewmckenna]

Gary Oldmans performance was phenomenal from start to finish in the Darkest Hour.