When most of us think of method acting, we think of actors like Daniel Day-Lewis, Marlon Brando, and Christian Bale, among others, who have gone to great lengths to fully embody the characters they play. The debate about the merits of method acting can grow rather heated, with Brian Cox famously slamming it as “American sh**,” and now Kristen Stewart is chiming in. While speaking with The New York Times, Stewart said that acting is, by nature, “quite embarrassing and unmasculine,” and questioned whether there are any female actors who are method.
What Did Kristen Stewart Say About Method Acting?
“Performance is inherently vulnerable and therefore quite embarrassing and unmasculine,” she said. “There’s no bravado in suggesting that you’re a mouthpiece for someone else’s ideas. It’s inherently submissive. Have you ever heard of a female actor that was method?“
Stewart continued, “Men are aggrandized for retaining self. Brando sounds like a hero, doesn’t he? If a woman did that, it would be different. If you have to do 50 push-ups before your close-up or refuse to say a word a certain way…There’s a common act that happens before the acting happens on set: If they can protrude out of the vulnerability and feel like a gorilla pounding their chest before they cry on camera, it’s a little less embarrassing. It also makes it seem like a magic trick, like it is so impossible to do what you’re doing that nobody else could do it.“
She recalled a recent conversation, which reaffirmed her belief that women aren’t given the same allowances when it comes to how they approach acting. “I asked a fellow actor: Have you ever met a female actor that was method and needed to scream and do a whole thing?” she said. “As soon as I said ‘male actor, female actor,’ the reaction was like, Do not mention the elephant in the room. And he goes, ‘Oh, actresses are crazy.’ Then I was like: Hold on a second. You just called me crazy! Cool. So now we’re doing the typical thing where the girl’s crazy, and you didn’t even listen to anything I said?“
Do Female Actors Go Method?
There are female actors who have gone method for certain roles, but I would argue that very few of them, if any, have gone to the same extremes as their male counterparts. Meryl Streep remained in character as Miranda Priestly throughout the production of The Devil Wears Prada, maintaining a frosty and detached attitude towards her co-stars. However, she said the experience was miserable. “It was horrible! I was [miserable] in my trailer,” Streep said. “I could hear them all rocking and laughing. I was so depressed! I said, ‘Well, it’s the price you pay for being boss.’ That’s the last time I ever attempted a method thing!”
Natalie Portman once said that method acting is a “luxury that women can’t afford.“
Other female actors who have adopted the method in the past include Ellen Burstyn, Lady Gaga, Hilary Swank, and more, but I can’t think of any who have sent dead rats to their co-stars or limped around the set on crutches. I’m looking at you, Jared Leto.
