According to the conventional wisdom, British acting showcases style rather than substance, assembling dramatic portraits from the outside in. In contrast, American acting focuses on the gritty stuff of motivation, channeling, rather than impersonating, the characters the actors create. It’s Technique versus Method. However, these differences are quickly becoming a thing of the past as many British actors are embracing the Method and producing amazing performances using this acting form.

Arguably, the best Method actor alive today is a Brit, and not just any Brit, but a Brit with a stiff-upper-lip pedigree: Daniel Day-Lewis, the son of a former Poet Laureate. One might also cite the U.K.’s own Christian Bale, the satirist Sacha Baron Cohen (who even does press interviews in character) and the late, great Peter Sellers. Some of the finest British actors working today, including Ewan McGregor, Samantha Morton, Clive Owen, Colin Farrell, are all quite as obviously informed by the Method as they are by the Royal Shakespeare Company. The films of the much-lauded British director Mike Leigh could easily be described as a Method workshop in front of which he happened to stick a camera.

Method acting is alive and well in the U.K., and of the many fine acting schools London has to offer, several acting schools are dedicated to teaching Method acting.

What Is Method Acting?

Method acting was first developed not in the United States, but in the Russia of Tolstoy, by a sometime actor named Constantin Stanislavski who drew heavily on philosophies like social realism, positivism and even Marxism for his insights into what makes dramatic performances tick.

Method Acting's basic precepts are simple: the best way to portray a character is to identify with that character, to use one’s own emotions and sensations to craft a fully realized and recognizable character onstage or on film. One of the Method's key techniques is the substitution of one’s own sense memories for the motivations that drive one's character, or in other words, finding an internal logic for an external action.

A Brief History of British Method Acting:

The rivalry between Technique and Method styles of acting became official during the filming of the 1976 movie Marathon Man when the well-known Shakespearian Lawrence Olivier shared the screen with famously Method-influenced Dustin Hoffman. Building up for the movie’s grisly dental torture scene, Hoffman performed a number of Method exercises. Watching him prepare in this way, Olivier is reputed to have remarked, "Dear boy, have your tried acting?"

But method acting broke o to the U.K. scene in a big way following Daniel Day-Lewis’s performance in the 1989 Jim Sheridan film, My Left Foot. Day-Lewis’s character in the film suffered from cerebral palsy; acting challenges abounded. Kirsten Sheridan, an actress who worked on the film with Day-Lewis, recalls seeing the actor walk only once during the entire length of the shooting.

In preparation for his role in the 2004 film The Machinist, Christian Bale reportedly lost five stone in order to play his insomniac character, surviving on a measly diet of apples and black coffee.

Where Can Aspiring Students Study Method Acting In London?

Legitimate acting schools that London offers feature classes in the Method in addition to other coursework. However, aspiring professional actors who think Method acting is something they would like to investigate in depth, have found that among the many acting classes London offers, there are a few that specialize in Method acting alone. A bit of research and social networking will help students narrow down their choice of schools and hopefully make a life-changing decision that will launch their dream of acting into reality.