This video explores how Robert De Niro implements elements from method acting to bring us riveting,
compelling, truthful moments as well as some of the most memorable characters to ever grace our
movie screens. Hello, welcome to Organic Acting. This is method acting according to Robert de Niro.
Robert de Niro was one of the reasons I wanted to become an actor. And I'm not talking about this
this or even this. I mean the golden age of De Niro from the 70s right through to the 90s.
An era that proved to the world that acting was not just about learning your lines and
turning up on set. Of course we can't discuss Robert De Niro's application of the method
without establishing what the method is. Constantin Stanislavski a Russian practitioner
designed a system or a method for allowing actors to experience real emotion and truth. This method
worked its way to America where practitioners such as Sanford Meisner Lee Strasberg and Stella
Adler took elements of Stanislavski's method and made them relevant and practical for performers
working on screen in the 20th century. Performers such as Montgomery Clift, James Dean and of course
Marlon Brando. The techniques of emotion memory, the given circumstances of the scene and even
truthful response in the moment brought a breath of fresh air to screen performance and
proved to the world that acting was more than just make-believe or a game of let's pretend.
Okay angry character angry character. Time to use my best angry face.
And this is where we find Robert De Niro from the mid 60s onwards: learning the method techniques
that were popular at the time and absorbing them into his own repertoire to pinpoint
the truth of the role which would in turn help introduce the new wave of method in the 1970s.
From here on we're going to look at examples that show De Niro's application of the method
and how those techniques helped in elevating his performance beyond those of his peers. Oh
you can't beat a bitter bobby. First off we're going to talk about research.
A cornerstone of the method is understanding your character - their past, their present,
their drive for the future. Their loves, their hates even their favourite
ice cream and type of sex. Or even type of ice cream while having sex.
This is what elevates a method actor from your everyday common or garden actor.
To quote the man himself you don't just play a part you've got to earn the right to play it.
We all know of the famous examples: De Niro earning his taxi cab license and spending time
driving a New York cab in preparation for the character Travis Bickle in 1976's Taxi Driver
or even training with Jake LaMotta and learning his fighting style for 1980's raging bull.
But what about his research for 1974's godfather part 2? Here Robert de Niro spent time with
dialect coaches and travelled to specific parts of Sicily to meet the locals, soak up the culture and
learn the dialect so as to add an extra layer of authenticity to his performance.
This love for extensive research is in evidence throughout De Niro's career.
For 1991's cape fear, De Niro arranged interviews with ex-convicts - recording their conversations
and noting their responses so as to understand their views on the world around them and in turn
bring a layer of empathy to his take on Max Cady. And the results speak for themselves.
Extensive research, delving deep into a character's given circumstances - a key part
of the method - pays off. By researching a role you can elevate your performance beyond that of
mere pretend acting. Moving on we can't discuss Robert De Niro and his application of the method
without addressing his physical transformations. Like many other performers who use physical
change as part of their performance process, De Niro isn't afraid of putting his body to work.
And like the best method actors of the past and present it must be remembered that De
Niro does this not to show off or steal the show look at me I'm a method actor
but for the sake of realism. To bring a sense of truth to the performance for himself as well
as his audience. The most obvious argument for physical transformation is that of playing real
life personas. Take De Niro's glorious performance as Al Capone in 1987's The Untouchables.
Of course, De Niro had photograph and film resources at his disposal so he could tailor
his weight gain and look towards that of the gangland boss. However in cape fear De Niro
and Martin Scorsese had a specific look and body shape in mind when creating the terminator-like
figure of Max Cady. Such a powerful physique could only help to convince the audience of the threat
that was Cady while at the same time allowing De Niro to feel capable of the pure violence that
the character exhibits. But De Niro's mastery of physical transformation arguably reached its peak
with Scorsese's Raging Bull. After spending close to a full year conditioning himself and his body,
training with fight choreographers and sparring over a thousand rounds with LaMotta himself,
Robert De Niro put the project on hold and took four months off to gain sixty pounds of weight.
This incredible transformation was once more not simply to wow an audience,
but to allow the actor himself to experience - physically - a boxer past his prime.
De Niro was offered prosthetics but blanketly refused. His physique, movement, gait
even his breathing while sixty pounds heavier could not be faked. It had to be lived.
Next we look at the emphasis of character over actor. A key part of the method and even
Stanislavski's system is the belief that as actors we never truly lose ourselves.
That with any character we play we are only ever using parts of our own psyche and expression.
While this is true we can clearly see that De Niro is a master of using the previous techniques
to submerge himself in each character - effectively hiding Robert De Niro and
bringing the characters traits to the forefront. Look at any interview with Robert De Niro:
we see a quiet, unassuming, even nervous and uncomfortable person. The type of man who is
far removed from the likes of Travis Bickle, Vito Corleone, Jake LaMotta or max Cady.
And finally we are going to look at an important technique in the method - one
popularized by Sanford Meisner - and that is living truthfully under imaginary circumstances.
All the method acting techniques we have covered so far would be useless pieces of showing off
if an actor were unable to truthfully respond and interact within the imaginary world they inhabit.
An obvious and often used example of De Niro incorporating a Meisner technique is seen in
Taxi driver where Travis Bickle repeats the you talking to me? line to the mirror - responding
to his reflection and line emphasis, altering the line delivery each time. You want me to eat you?
You want me to eat you? You want me to eat you? But this technique of living truthfully in
imaginary circumstances is in evidence throughout De Niro's career. From the way he listens,
anticipates a change in action and adapts to the circumstances he is presented with. Using stimuli
around us as actors - our set and location, as well as the influence of other performers - can
also be seen in the Russian roulette scene from 1978's The Deer Hunter. Here De Niro uses the
win or lose, live or die scenario, the torture of his friend Nicky and even the taunts and physical
attacks from his captors to live the scene and bring a stark harrowing truth with it.
Do you have a favourite performance by Robert De Niro? What is it about his use of the method
that excites you? And also, would you like to see more of these method acting videos in the future?
As always if you could give me a like, a share,
subscribe - it really does help me out. I've been Chris and I will see you next time. Bye Bye.