What is Good Acting? 

Good acting is me acting like I want to watch this

“You only ever see people do method when they’re playing an asshole” Robert Pattinson spitting straight facts, holy shit.

The thing that bothers me so much about the Jared Leto situation is that sending used condoms to your coworkers in ANY other profession would be classified as sexual harassment and would get you justifiably fired. But the fact that he proudly admits to doing it combined with how clearly uncomfortable his castmates are when they're asked about it is so disgusting and goes to show that he's just an asshole

shout out to the actors who have played completely terrible people so well that they get bullied irl bc other ppl hated the character so much. hope they're doing okay these days

The bad example of method acting Jared Leto: He did random things that didn’t actually fit the character, for the sake of “method acting” (he really just wanted to be a dick) And an example of good method acting Christian Bale never speaking with his actual accent on set (convinced his co-workers he was American unintentionally) Learned to (essentially) sweat on command (it’s physically impossible to do it as described but it’s close to what happened) Didn’t do creepy stuff to people he worked with, just acted the same way he would if the cameras were rolling on a scene where he had to act “sane”

I’ll tell you what good acting is. His name is Hayden Christianson in the hit film Little Italy where he says his famous quote “is your hand on my ass?” Goosebumps every time.

good acting is when drew pretends like he knows what he’s doing and we believe him

My favourite line from Breaking Bad is “If you really don’t know who I am, then maybe you should tread lightly.” It embodies everything Walter has become and shows that he knows that he knows about the collateral damage he causes and no longer cares.

A great example of non-verbal, facial acting is the last scene of Knives Out. It's basically just a full minute of reaction shots, with no dialogue whatsoever, and you can so clearly understand how each character is feeling in that moment.

Drew didn't mean anything he said in this video. He was just acting. Good acting.

Anger is probably the easiest acting to do. I would say crying softly is the most impressive, absolutely breaking down and sobbing seems easier than softly crying. My point is subtle acting is harder

One antagonist character in a movie that absolutely stunned me was J.K Simmons in Whiplash. His performance as an abusive, scary, music teacher no one ever wants to experience is so on point that I get scared watching it, as if he’s yelling at me. It’s one of my favorite performances by an actor in modern movie history.

One example of physical acting I love is Taraji P Henson in Hidden Figures when she physically looks so confident while she’s in the zone focusing on her work and the other people working react like “why she’s walking around like she belongs here?” And once she sees them her whole body shrinks into itself. No one says anything but it tells a story and it crushed me

Holding back tears is substantially more impressive than crying. Some people can cry without having to invoke emotion but to have some emotion trying to burst forward but having to subdue it is not only difficult but also relatable

I remember reading somewhere that while American Psycho was in production, Christian Bale spoke in an American accent the whole time off set, in interviews, etc. which I think is a good example of (sort of) method acting that is probably more helpful and doesn’t cross a line.

I read years ago that Brian Cranston had so many lines taken out when he was playing Walter White because he was such a good actor, he could convey things with just his facial expression and the lines weren’t needed.

How... Are you going to talk about acting and Breaking Bad and not even mention Anna Gunn as Skylar?? That performance has stayed with me for years

The best acting performance I’ve ever seen was by this kid on Vine. I can’t remember who he was, but he really made me FEEL like the road worked ahead.

about method acting: jared leto's behaviour to "prepare" for his role as the joker is just the epitome of all the problems with method acting these days. i appreciate method acting, but hollywood has completely ruined it and turned this style of acting into a marketing gimmick. like, if an actor says they had to do insane things to prepare for the role, the movie will be branded as a must-see and an amazing work of art.

That Mark Hamill clip at 6:15 was such a great addition to this already awesome video. I think non-actors don't realize how bad actors can look as a result of bad non-acting surrounding them. It's like talented athletes with bad coaches or something.

Loved the Hayden praise you gave. His physical acting is outstanding. But on his defence, his 'robotic' line delivery was deliberate. He was supposed to sound flat, because that's how Vader spoke. But yeah, Bryan Cranston's acting in Breaking Bad, has to be some of the greatest acting ever put to screen.

Good acting is “I do NOT have feelings for Christie North.”

Fun Fact! Since Christian Bale is a method actor, he actually killed 20 people to prepare for his role as Patrick Bateman

I went to school for theatre. My acting professor, technical theatre professor, and the head of the theatre department all said DO NOT DO METHOD ACTING. It can literally kill an actor because they get so invested that they lose themselves and when the show/movie/play is over…they don’t know how to find themselves again.

I also think that a form of acting that was not mention is voice acting, which I believe is very underappreciated as you can not see the actors. There's points where the way an actor voiced a line was so well acted that I've been brought to tears.

Danny, you can stop the acting. Your Drew impression is spot on, we get it.

Drew is actually a professional basketball player, he’s just acting like a goofy youtuber. i mean, did he really think anyone would believe there are TWO drew gooden’s?

Danny Pudi is one of my favorite actors currently because he really embodies every character he plays, like you genuinely can believe that the characters he plays are fully realized people, even if the writing is weird or stiff, he puts /something/ into every performance that just brings the character to life. I think his talent is especially shown in his role as Abed- like there are points where he has to Act like he’s Acting while staying in character as the character he’s acting, and he pulls it off. He’s incredible at facial expressions and subtle physical acting (if you watch him as Brad vs Abed his mannerisms are entirely different it’s actually kind of scary, there have been times where my brain genuinely couldn’t reconcile that the two characters were played by the same person.) I’ve seen him in some truly awful movies, where the writing is weird and the directing is weird, and even then he manages to make the character come to life. I could go on about it forever tbh, Danny Pudi is an incredible actor and deserves more recognition.

My spin on this is the following: I played a lot of psychopaths and over the top killers, but in my opinion what I always fail at is playing normal people in everyday life. To me acting naturally is much harder than acting in an outrageous fashion.

Fun fact, Aaron Paul has never taken a single acting class in his entire career, and I find that incredibly impressive. The way he portrays Jesse feels so real and I believe he is by far the most realistic character in Breaking Bad.

Benedict Cumberbatch did method acting during filming for Power of the Dog, and he was playing a really awful person. Y'know what he did? He stayed away from the crew and other actors while not filming! He didn't say terrible things or send people used condoms. He just acted like an asshole by not speaking to anyone. That's how you do method acting- it doesn't hurt anyone or make people feel unsafe, it just helps you hold onto your character.

Good Omens is a masterclass in subtle acting choices. David Tennet and Micheal Sheen have so many moments of perfect characterization, from the way Crowley walks to the thousands of micro expressions that flash across Aziraphale’s face at any given moment. I think that it’s a wonderful example of how actors can completely transform a script and bring it to life in a beautiful way.

Succession is honestly the best show I've seen in the last 5 years. It is absolutely fantastic and the actors played their part so perfectly! I'd highly recommend it.

the Jared Leto stuff always weirded me out. Like if he wasn’t “method acting” someone could have pressed charges for harassment. Also how does sending people things in the mail help your acting???

I will literally die on the hill that Robert Pattinson was good in Twilight, he's an anti-social, sexually repressed, 100 year old with a 17 year old brain honestly he nailed it

Gary Oldman is the epitome of good acting, even when he goes "overboard" it's never overboard. Even if it's not always realistic it makes sense. What matters in acting is believability. Not realism or "Look at how emotional I am!!" If you believe them, it's working.

weird time to upload a new thumbnail over a year after this was uploaded

also I just wanted to say - please keeping making videos on whatever you want because your passion is what makes them enjoyable to watch regardless of the topic. it’s refreshing to not watch another commentary channel cover the same topic over and over again. great video drew!

Drew really changed the thumbnail and thought we wouldn’t notice

I came to the same conclusion when researching good acting, most people tend to give credits to loud screaming and crying, which even isn’t that hard if you got practice and talent. Some subtle stuff is way more effective than being loud.

On a side note, Drew and Nathan Zed doing these “normal guy talks about technical aspects of media and pop culture” is very refreshing content

looks like I’ll be tweeting more often 😎

sebastian stan only had like a dozen of lines in the winter soldier movie, his non-verbal (especially eyes) acting goes crazy in that movie i'm obsessed

As I am an actor myself, your take on REACTION is true. Very hard. But if you have such good acting partners whom, even though the cameras are not on them but they chose to “act on that scene” behind the cameras just to help you have the real humans to react upon, THAT IS CALLED GENEROUS ACTORS. This happened in The Walking Dead. Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes stayed on the set and acted on his lines behind the cameras just for Norman Reedus as Daryl to help him have best close up shots. Normal actors won’t do that because it means they have to work harder, longer for nothing (because they are not in the shots). So the actors on set need to act with the cardboard (of the acting partner) or the AD who just read the lines to you.

The only "critique" I have of this video is that I feel Drew should've mentioned voice acting. I think it's super underrated and the difference between a bad voice actor and a good one is night and day.

I really appreciate the defense of Hayden Christianson as Anakin, I was always inspired by his physical acting and how well he could portray a storm of emotions battling inside him in the Revenge of the Sith. Underrated guy.

Only real ones remember the Breaking Bad thumbnail 🗿

Feel like breaking bad will always be a show people think of when they think of genuinely good shows, doesn't matter if that's writing, cinematography or acting. It's just all top notch.

It’s always “What is good acting?” and not “How is good acting?”

Method acting isn’t actually staying in character the whole time. It is actually trying to actually feel the emotion the character is feeling. Hollywood is just really fucked up.

Drew, as a trained Actor. You are absolutely nailing everything that someone would learn in a BFA program. Well done 👏

An actor who I think is amazing in all areas of acting, is Jake Gyllenhaal. Every single movie he’s in has been absolutely amazing. Jake Gyllenhaal just displays emotions so well, it amazes me. The characters he plays are usually very unstable or insane, and the way he portrays their characters with facial expressions and line delivery makes me feel like I’m in the story.

As a professional paid actor I’m shocked at how much you know for someone that’s not trained. “Acting is reacting” is the staple line that everyone has heard, but things like “as humans we try to be okay” is something so many working actors don’t know. We as humans don’t like being vulnerable so we try not to cry. We try not to rage. But our investment has to be equal to our reaction. If you are invested and present with your scene partner then you will automatically give those reaction shots because “the body does not lie”. If you aren’t invested then you just look like surprised pikachu. The best compliment you can ever get is “I didn’t even realise you were acting”.

"Free Churro" of Bojack Horseman is an incredible example of powerful voice acting as well as incredible writing

My favourite moments are when a character can be perfectly encapsulated in just one scene, or even one line. The first scene that comes to mind is weirdly in Men in Black, when J says "better to have loved and losses than never to have loved at all" and K just goes "try it". The line was done so perfectly and I suddenly felt like I knew everything I needed to know about him.

i always love watching the background characters in everything but especially theatre, if you just watch the ensemble during a play they’re always acting because you can always see them which i feel like relates to what you were saying about succession and acting with your body. the background characters in any play have to be acting all the time and they usually aren’t talking so they have to use their body’s. anyways, there’s my theatre kid rant

The fact Drew said that scenes of men lashing out in anger are overrated and followed it with "a good reaction shot can be just as powerful or devastating as whatever they're reacting too" set to shots of women reacting to lashing-out men is a _power move._ It says so much so subtly.

I actually just started Succession last week so this was a treat to see and I wholeheartedly agree. When Tom swallowed his own load, I thought "Damn, that guy is really acting like how someone who swallowed their own load would"

6:25 i’ve watched this video over a dozen times but still, my autistic ass is always just like, “yeah haha that’s really weird, robotic dialogue haha, so unnatural, i definitely don’t talk like that and would be thrown off if somebody else did”

0:45 It's just a little thing I noticed, but I really love how you edited this scene from Nightcrawler to make it look like he went from 100 to 0 in a split second. I had to go watch the actual scene again to realize it was even edited because the cut is so subtle. The way his face changes in an instant makes him feel even more terrifyingly unhinged. I wish that's how it was in the actual movie, too.

as someone who is currently in school for acting, this felt like a lecture. great job drew!

In The Silence of the Lambs, Anthony Hopkins allowed for a natural and tentative chemistry to unfold between his and Jodie Foster's characters by not interacting with her outside of each take - a simple, highly effective, and respectful way of involving your acting process off set/in real life. Meanwhile, Jared Leto sent ANIMAL CARCASES to his cast mates (just thinly veiled, gross harassment) and still gave a shit performance. Method acting isn't your free for all excuse to be a menace.

some of the best acting ive seen has been from schitts creek annie murphy, catherine o hara, dan levy and eugene levy all have such memorable characters each with their own distinct mannerisms and the character development is also just amazing the writing and directing of that show is really exactly what you're talking about, not to mention its one of the funniest shows ive ever watched it deserved the emmy's sweep

I just want to say that whether is was intentional or not, the roboticness of Anikin perfectly represents his character. His whole thing is that he can't fully express himself.

The thing that always got me about the Leto Joker thing was that I can't really recall a time in the comics or films or anything where the Joker sent used condoms to people? Kinda just felt like something Leto was hunting for an excuse to do.

Christian Bale is often talked about for his physical changes in different movies but people overlook his acting skills, specially his accents, his American accent in American Psycho is very different to his American accent in the Machinist and to his American accent in Batman Begins as well, it just proves how versatile he really is

I think good acting is when you’re fully invested in a movie/show and don’t even have to think that it is good or bad acting

Drew you bastard i thought this was a new video but you just changed the thumbnail

"You can't make a Tomlette with breaking some Greggs" is probably the best line in anything ever.

Anyone else feel like Andrew is selling himself short for his critically acclaimed role of "Landlord"

7:11 Yeah, I also went back and rewatched them, and the entirety of the 3 original Spiderman movies makes SO much more sense if, at any time someone is talking to Peter, you imagine there's a cymbal monkey hammering away inside his head. He acts like he genuinely doesn't understand how human interactions are supposed to work. And you know what? It fits perfectly with the script he's given. I had also completely forgotten just how much J.K. Simmons absolutely just highway robbery's every scene he's in. The way he delivers his snappy comebacks were Oscar worthy

One of the best acting performances I've ever seen, hands down, is Bill Hader on "Barry" (honestly, I’m surprised Drew didn’t even bring it up in the video). It's always such a visceral whiplash to realize "Oh wait. This is the same exact guy who played Stefon on SNL. What in the absolute f**k?! How can Bill Hader be so laugh-out-loud funny in one scene and then act with such a raw, terrifying anger or such a vulnerable, palpable sadness in the next?!?!” He’s just THAT talented and it’s enough to send any actor worth his salt into a jealous rage trying to figure out how he pulls off such a delicate tightrope. Somehow, he manages to keep a murderous assassin who does terrible things and murders people in order to cover up his crimes extremely sympathetic. His facial expressions are incredible and amazing, as well!

i remember hearing about how when asked how she deals with roles that may be traumatic (hereditary, etc), toni collette said “well it’s just a movie” which i think is really incredible especially considering how phenomenal her acting is

I think Donald Glover is such a good example of a great physical actor. Troy from Community and Earn from Atlanta seem like two entirely different people just because he carries himself so differently and distinctively in each role. Also his physical comedy in Community is some of the only physical comedy that's made me laugh out loud

Breaking Bad was the most life changing show I’ve watched. I wish I could experience it for the first time again.

Im actually so happy that one of my favourite youtubers referenced 2 of my favourite shows: bojack horseman and breaking bad

As someone whose arms naturally rest in t-rex position when I walk, I don’t know if I should feel validated or upset that an Emily in Paris character shares my habit

My theatre teacher hated Jim Carrey’s acting because of his “stupid overacting” in his comedies like the Pet Detective movies, but that’s exactly what makes his comedy SO GOOD. He literally put ALL his energy into every bit of his goofiness that it goes above and beyond the average goofy/loud character. If there was even a hair less energy in his performances they would not be as legendary as they are.

bob odenkirk in better call saul is just... amazing. i have no words for how that show made me feel

I genuinely really enjoy watching Drew’s full video essays on shows I’ve never ever seen before.

Another aspect of good acting to me, that Drew only marginally touched on in this video, is making people hate you. Just think of Joffrey Baratheon from GOT and how much hype was generated on the internet at them time, just around people hating this character. Jack Gleeson played this character's arrogance, carelessness and egoism, but also its basis in a backround of being a spoiled but insecure mommy's boy, so well and so convincing, that literal millions of people felt the need to express their hate for this fictitious character for years and reveled in his on-screen death.

The “Gooden Stare" is one of Drew Gooden's most recognizable directorial techniques, a method of shot composition where a character stares at the camera with a forward tilt, to convey to the audience that the character in question is at the peak of their derangement.

This is an impressive analysis of how the creative field of filmmaking actually works. It’s the whole team, everyone has to bring quality to the creation, not just a few people.

I've watched this video 3 times and always wanted to watch Succession. Finally started yesterday and finished season 1 today, and I have to say, it is an incredible show

The scene in Brokeback Mountain where Anne Hathaway reacts to Ennis on the phone and realizes that he and Jack were lovers was probably one of my favorite acting moments ever. Just sublime.

Another thing that bothers me about Jared Leto’s performance is that he is just trying to act as insane as possible. Look at Heath Ledger’s Joker - that performance is not good because he plays an insane man. There’s so many layers to the character. He visibly gets annoyed when people call him crazy. He’s shows emotions of pure joy while he’s enacting his plans. He plays the character like he is the only sane man in the room. There’s really just a wealth of really cool things he does beyond screaming and being a fucking maniac.

Woah he changed the thumbnail

THE REACTIONS IN SALTBURN !!!! You spend so much time trying to figure out how different characters feel about situations based on their reactions and it makes it so mysterious and captivating

One of the most underrated actors is Cillian Murphy. He's embodies every character he's ever played and even in bad movies like "In Time" he never lowers his skills. Watch Inception, Watching Detectives, Batman, Peacock, Peaky Blinders, 28 days later, etc. he's phenomenal in all those rolls and completely different from the last character. There's a video of Cillian preparing for the role and he's methodically practicing the way in which one of his characters should hold themselves, how they should walk and look at other people. It's incredible and it shows in the final performance. He is an actor's actor and I have nothing bad to say about him.

Drew when you said, “..OUR birthday?” to Charlie and his clones, it was so well-acted I tapped the screen to rewatch 15 seconds. You’re a distractingly good actor in bad skits.

why did the thumbnail change 😮😮

Bryan Cranston as Walter White is probably one of the best roles ever. He’s genuinely so compelling and powerful, I couldn’t help but try my best to root for him throughout all of the evil fucked up stuff he did within the show. It was only through season 5 where shit really started to hit the fan where I lost all hope of redemption, he truly went off of the deep end where he could never turn back. I finished breaking bad a couple hours ago and it’s probably one of my most favourite shows of all time.

Jack Nicholson's horrifying faces and overall acting in "The Shining" is classic. Reminds me of Bill Skarsgärd's creepy smile that he does as Pennywise.

“I’ll take down the Empire when you fix this damn door!” This, sir, deserves an Oscar. And an Emmy. Maybe even a Kid’s Choice Award.

13:05 Fun facts about Morbius. He is a marvel legend. He is super fit (pilates helps). He needs to consume blood to live. ”I am venom” he is not venom ”just kidding it’s doctor Michael Morbius at your service”.

One of my personal favorite examples that I feel does not get it’s due credit is Tatianna Maslany’s preformances in Orphan Black. The ability to make each clone feel unique in a way so that you can forget its all the same actress is actually unbelievable to watch.

For some reason one of the best examples of acting that comes to mind is Emma Thompson in love actually when she realizes her husband bought the expensive necklace for another woman, and she leaves the room to collect herself. There’s something so powerful in that scene, no over the top sobbing just a deeply moving quiet scene before she goes downstairs to her family and has to put on a happy “mother” face for her children

Drew is so good at making jokes but he’s also good at analysis. I love his deep dives just as much as his comedy!

As an actor myself, I feel lie one of the most important things in acting is the non-verbal acting. Some of the most spectacular acting i've ever seen have no dialogue whatsoever. Dialogue isn't always necessary for carrying the story of a scene.

My favorite set of performances I've seen in a while is from Sound of Metal. Everything just seems so real. Nothing is over the top. The moments when he's realizing he's losing his hearing and just is staring off into space... subtle but seems so accurate. Thought it was an amazing movie.