Top 20 Greatest Method Actors Of All Time
#20: James Dean
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Having studied at the Actors Studio, James Dean is often named on the list of highly-influential actors of the 1950s. He entered the film world with an exceptionally personal approach to roles. In "Rebel Without a Cause," Dean took the world by storm with a realistic portrayal of a teenager in crisis. He’s also well known for two other fantastic performances in "East of Eden" and the Western film "Giant." The latter allowed him to branch out into a part that saw him playing other ages and speaking with a different accent, which he pulled off in scenes that featured him in heartbreaking hysterics. While he only had three major chances to wow audiences, he did so spectacularly and became a Hollywood icon as a result.
#19: Jim Carrey
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After spending time doing work in both stand-up comedy and television, Jim Carrey finally broke through as a bankable film actor in the mid-1990s. The end of the decade saw him trying more serious roles such as the Andy Kaufman biopic "Man on the Moon." For his stint as the real-life comedian, Carrey became Kaufman both on and off screen. He drove the production staff crazy, staying in character and sometimes disrupting the filmmaking process. Controversially dedicated to the bitter end, his impeccably accurate performance did garner praise upon the movie's release.
#18: Nicolas Cage
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Sometimes controversial and always entertaining, Nicolas Cage’s appearances on screen have garnered him awards and criticism. For “Leaving Las Vegas,” it’s been said that Cage had an actor who suffered from alcohol use disorder be his “drinking coach”. This research doesn’t stop at his more dramatic roles either, since even a movie like “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” made the performer go the extra mile. He reportedly scared his co-stars by painting his face, putting in black contact lenses and avoiding speaking to people. Even with recent films such as “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” the star has adopted an interpretative technique that he calls “nouveau shamanism.” His ability to channel all sorts of idiosyncratic methods makes every subsequent undertaking that much more compelling.
#17: Val Kilmer
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Working with the intense director Oliver Stone, Val Kilmer took his role as Jim Morrison seriously while filming "The Doors." The musical biopic followed Morrison's journey to rock fame and inspired Kilmer to enter into the realm of Method actors. Total and absolute discipline was ostensibly needed to achieve the final product, which included having crew members call him by the frontman’s name. Kilmer didn’t stop there either. He learned the bulk of the musician's catalog in order to perform the songs, reportedly clocking in more than 100 hours of researching. The film’s release was nothing short of a career-defining moment for the lead actor, despite the extensive preparation that he would later attend therapy to work through.
#16: Adrien Brody
Adrien Brody won an Oscar for his role in “The Pianist” and not just because he learned to play the title instrument. He dedicated himself wholly to the role of Władysław Szpilman, losing thirty pounds, disconnecting from his old life entirely, and selling a great deal of his belongings. Władysław Szpilman was a pianist and a survivor of the Holocaust, and his story is especially awe-inspiring given the real-life hardships. With those necessary and difficult details, Brody decided his best course of action was to physically and mentally give himself over to the project. The experience ended up staying with him until after the production completed, so much so that he struggled with continuing other work afterwards.
#15: Choi Min-sik
In the film “Oldboy,” Choi Min-sik heads on a violent path to find out who imprisoned him. His character, Oh Dae-su, stops by a restaurant and prompts the actor to eat live seafood. The scene required the performer to eat four octopuses, which he did in a moment of complete commitment. To make matters even more complicated, Choi is a Buddhist and a vegetarian who would normally steer clear of any living creature, so he reportedly said a prayer for each octopus before consuming them. His performance in this South Korean classic presented all sorts of physical challenges that he willingly took on to ensure the unequivocal memorableness of the film.
#14: Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman has multiple awards and even more nominations for his authentic characters in everything from “Midnight Cowboy” to “Rain Man.” His roles include Ted in “Kramer vs. Kramer,” a highly-detailed story about divorce that saw the actor provoking his co-star Meryl Streep into a more heightened enactment. He starred alongside Laurence Olivier in the film “Marathon Man,” whereby he was said to have stayed awake for days to achieve his character’s exhausted state – though he would later admit this feat was not undertaken uniquely for the role. Either way, Olivier famously remarked that Hoffman was going overboard and should try acting instead. Their clash in styles provoked one of the more iconic criticisms about the Method.
#13: Montgomery Clift
Montgomery Clift arrived on the scene in the 1940s with roles in films such as “Red River.” Clift’s emergence in cinema predated even Marlon Brando, a personality he was often compared to as both were early adopters of the Method. Clift starred in a number of early 1950s projects including George Stevens’ “A Place in the Sun.” Other projects included Hitchcock’s “I Confess”, a feat which he spent a night behind bars for in order to act out his character’s jail scenes. His independence as an artist defied the traditional path for actors in Hollywood. And, despite sometimes being underrated in his work and career, the star opened doors for his contemporaries and played an important part in changing screen acting.
#12: Jack Nicholson
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Jack Nicholson was not an instant success in films, but his breakthrough in the late 1960s signaled a sea change in Hollywood. His legendary run in the 1970s contained work from “Five Easy Pieces” to “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” Nicholson’s charisma propelled him to stardom alongside his own particular brand of movie acting. According to the Oscar winner himself, nobody is a greater testament to the Method, particularly because it’s not widely known that he employs the techniques. With a keen eye, however, it's easy to see that he’s taken inspiration from many of the Method’s original users with his power coming through in a wide variety of dynamic performances. From being a playboy astronaut to a bitter military officer, Nicholson always puts on the front of effortlessness.
#11: Joaquin Phoenix
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Joaquin Phoenix never turns in a boring performance, largely attributable to the way he transforms into a complete different person for each of his cinematic efforts. He even pretended to quit acting for the mockumentary "I'm Still Here." This is partly due to his ability to empathize with any character, such as the emotionally complex protagonist in the "Joker." Phoenix had to explore the depths of humanity through the eyes of a troubled clown and drop a significant amount of weight. With such a great performer in the part, the disturbing elements of the story truly come to fruition. Plus, having played nuanced leading men such as Johnny Cash, the artist is no stranger to digging deep for a movie.
#10: Jared Leto
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Throughout his controversial career, Jared Leto has maintained a hands-on approach to acting. He's never shied away from gaining or losing weight for a part. This includes his startling turn in dramas such as "Requiem for a Dream" and "Chapter 27." His Method acting has also purportedly caused tension on the sets he’s worked on. For example, in order to channel the Joker in “Suicide Squad,” Leto pulled some pretty unhinged pranks on his co-stars, including gifting Margot Robbie a live rat. Leto continues to provoke discussion for his wide range of notable roles in and out of the superhero genre.
#9: Hilary Swank
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Hilary Swank has gone all out in preparation for numerous movies. While today, she says that a transgender man should have played her role in “Boys Don’t Cry,” at the time, Swank was diligent in her endeavour to properly represent her trans character. She spent over a month trying to be perceived as a man, all in preparation to understand her character as deeply as she could. In the film "Million Dollar Baby," she achieved the role of a boxer by throwing herself into the ring, a feat that actually led to her contracting a staph infection. Both roles would go on to earn her an Academy Award for Best Actress.
#8: Gary Oldman
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Much revered for his passionate acting, Gary Oldman is famous for his many outrageous characters and villains. He’s definitely never been accused of phoning in a performance. His role as Winston Churchill in “Darkest Hour” involved detailed makeup work that helped Oldman achieve an accurate look. He also decided to indulge in Churchill’s cigar habit for several sequences, costing something like $20,000 to keep up. This caused much more than financial pain as the actor developed nicotine poisoning. Willing to go above and beyond, it’s no surprise Oldman took home plenty of awards for playing the British Prime Minister.
#7: Heath Ledger
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Heath Ledger turned in one fantastic performance after the other in the 2000s. Early dramatic parts like Sonny Grotowski in “Monster’s Ball” saw him asking co-star Billy Bob Thornton to actually punch him in a scene. His magnum opus in acting came with “The Dark Knight,” a film that allowed him to completely escape his previous image. He turned himself into a deranged supervillain through long hours of working alone in his hotel room. Turning his pre-production process into a comprehensive college course, Ledger developed a profile for the role as well as a signature laugh. His hard work paid off in an iconic effort that won him a much-deserved Academy Award.
#6: Al Pacino
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Al Pacino is one of America's finest dramatic actors with a career spanning multiple decades. He was mostly passed over for major awards until his performance in "Scent of a Woman." Pacino thoroughly committed to portraying a blind man. Following a period of extended research and working with a school for the visually impaired, the actor developed a way of living that might resemble that of someone with the disability. On set he would keep from focusing his eyes, a decision that even led to him injuring his eyesight. Some might argue that he didn't need to go to such lengths, but his Academy Award may just speak for itself.
#5: Meryl Streep
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Meryl Streep's name is practically synonymous with award-winning excellence at this point. Streep gave a complicated mother a heart in “Kramer vs. Kramer,” her first Oscar-winning performance of many. But, she's perhaps best known for her work in “Sophie's Choice,” an emotional rollercoaster that features one of the most unforgettable decisions in movie history. Her chameleon-like powers allow her to assume any accent and play any character under the sun. She finally admitted to falling out of love with Method acting after having to play the evil boss in “The Devil Wears Prada.” Thankfully, this hasn’t seemed to impact her interminably commendable portrayals in the slightest.
#4: Christian Bale
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Christian Bale has gone to great lengths to play many unforgettable roles. His determination to become Patrick Bateman in "American Psycho" resulted in a chilling performance like no other. Still, this pales in comparison to his weight loss for the movie "The Machinist," which saw the actor become a completely different person entirely. Bale never seems to turn down an acting challenge and this was made even more apparent when, upon his weight loss, he was offered the chance to play Batman. This, of course, meant that he’d have to undergo physique changes once more in order to achieve Bruce Wayne’s chiseled build. The performer may never return to such drastic techniques, but it remains obvious that he is nothing short of committed to his efforts.
#3: Robert De Niro
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Robert De Niro has been an acting powerhouse for countless decades. Following his studies with the likes of coach Stella Adler, De Niro steadily built up his cinematic chops in the 1970s. He earned praise for his work in "The Godfather Part II" and "Taxi Driver," the latter of which he prepared for by working long hours as an NYC cab driver. His 1980 turn as boxer Jake LaMotta was an assignment like no other in the masterpiece "Raging Bull." Becoming a toned brawler and then a much larger version of the athlete later in life, De Niro and his weight training practically initiated the trend of drastic body fluctuations for roles.
#2: Daniel Day-Lewis
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Famously disappearing into every role, Daniel Day-Lewis largely revived people's fascination with the Method. He's the most lauded actor of his generation because of his unparalleled dedication to every job. This includes making decisions such as remaining in a wheelchair throughout the filming of "My Left Foot." He's also known for staying in character throughout shooting, maintaining a particular voice and capturing pitch-perfect accents of all kinds. When he becomes villains such as Bill the Butcher or Daniel Plainview, you believe every single second of his performance. Few others could portray Abraham Lincoln and win an Oscar for it, after all.
#1: Marlon Brando
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For many actors of the 20th century, Marlon Brando was regarded as the most inspirational of them all. His game-changing work brought the Method technique into full-view with his early stint in "A Streetcar Named Desire." Stanley Kowalski and later Terry Malloy from "On the Waterfront" both showcased his impeccable humanity and range. The intensity bounced off the screen in every single performance, especially in his later turn as Don Corleone from "The Godfather." He could easily lure audiences in with his subtlety before letting it all hell break loose with explosive emotion. Brando continues to be a guiding light for performers of all kinds, transcending even film acting as a heavyweight on stage and screen.
