Theatre and Acting/Method Acting

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Method acting is a style of acting, which involves the actor trying to make themselves actually feel what the character is feeling and not just act like it. It was started by Lee Strasburg from the acting studio who took inspiration from Konstantin Stanislavski. It requires the actor to use what they are thinking or feeling at the moment and their past experiences to shape their portrayal of a character. It relies not on the actor memorising and repeating a script and a set of actions but on them immersing themselves in the character and then reacting naturally to the circumstances they are put in. Its origins are American and it became popular in the 1940s and 50s. Paul Newman, Al Pacino, and James Dean were early actors of this technique.