# Different types of acting

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-types-of-acting/104975>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [April 22, 2002, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-types-of-acting/104975 "2002-04-22T13:16:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\
**Post date:** [April 22, 2002, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-types-of-acting/104975/1 "2002-04-22T13:16:56Z")

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I’ve heard that many actors learn different types of acting (like Method acting), but what are the different types and what are they like? Which do you prefer? Can you recognize what style a certain actor is using in a movie, for example?

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**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\
**Post date:** [April 22, 2002, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-types-of-acting/104975/2 "2002-04-22T13:56:45Z")

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I don’t know much about it, but I think the two big acting philosophies are the British school (just pretend) and the Method (an American invention, it requires the actor to feel the emotions his character is feeling). Method acting often results in more intense performances, but they can also be over-the-top (think Al Pacino in anything later that Godfather 2).

–Cliffy