Sebastian Stan Slams Method Acting, Thinks It's A "Very Irresponsible, Narcissistic, Self-Indulgent Thing"

As he said, he doesn't believe in creating chaos to create raw emotion on set.

Liezel

• Published in Film & TV
• May 7, 2022

If you're into film, you've probably heard the stories of actors getting into method acting. With this technique, performers "become" the character, frequently remaining in the role for long periods of time, in order to empathize with the characters they're portraying emotionally.

They urge themselves to feel the true sentiments in each scenario rather than just faking them.

In some moments, this technique has actually separated the good actors from the all-time greats. This technique has helped some of the best actors out there create some of the most iconic characters we've seen.

To do this though would require great commitment from an actor to the point that they'd have to sacrifice their mind, body, and spirit to completely transform into characters we'll never truly forget. Sometimes, however, things can get a little too intense.

There have been tales of actors intentionally riling up their castmates because they insist on maintaining their character while there have also been others who sent rodents to their castmates just because it's what their character would do.

Some celebs can tolerate it while others just see no sense in it. Sebastian Stan is one of the latter and he didn't hold back when it came to comments about it.

Here's what he had to say about method acting.

Sebastian Stan had some hot takes about method acting

In a lot of ways, it's hard to recognize Sebastian Stan when he played opposite Lily James and Seth Rogen in Pam & Tommy, Hulu's biographical drama about Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee's leaked sex tape.

In Pam & Tommy, Stan took on the role of a drummer

In the film, Stan took on the role of the infamously hotheaded and sometimes violet drummer from Motley Crue. And given that it was a bit difference from his role as Bucky Barnes in the MCU, it was challenging territory for the actor.

It was a new territory for the actor

During a recent appearance on Backstage's In the Envelope podcast, Stan reflected on developing his character and the process that helped him bring a real person to life onscreen.

He's not a fan of the method approach

Apparently, despite Stan's concerns about bringing his own personal mannerisms with him to work, he's not really a big fan of doing the method approach to acting.

He doesn't believe in creating chaos

"I don't believe in creating chaos for the purposes of [acting]," Sebastian explained. "And I know actors do that a lot. There's a lot of people that do that ... create sort of chaos on set or chaos in the other people they're working with, in order to somehow give the scene this tension or whatever."

He really didn't mince his words

"But to me, that just reads like a very irresponsible, narcissistic, kind of self-indulgent thing," he added.

He doesn't think it benefits anybody

"It just reads like: 'I'm afraid, and I just want to torture everyone else because of it.'"

Given all the horror stories out there with method acting, maybe Stan has the right idea.

We know that a lot of method actors have brought us iconic movies and characters and who knows if they would have been that excellent if they didn't go into that method. However, admittedly, there are some drawbacks to it.

After all, when you're working on a film, it's not just you. There are many people around you to consider.

But, to each their own, right?

Liezel