Strasberg, Lee

Strasberg, Lee (1901-1982), American director and actor, and the leading teacher of the acting technique known as “the Method”. He was born in Budzanow, Austria-Hungary (now Budanov, Ukraine), went to the United States in 1909, and became a naturalized United States citizen in 1936. Strasberg began his professional career in 1924 as a stage manager and actor. In 1931 he helped found the Group Theatre; he directed many of its productions as well as other successful Broadway plays.

In 1951 Strasberg became artistic director of the Actors Studio, and in 1969 he founded the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. The principal American exponent of the Method, an emotion-oriented acting technique based on the teachings of the Russian actor and director Konstantin Stanislavski, Strasberg was primarily responsible for the training of many leading American actors. His students included Anne Bancroft, Maureen Stapleton, Sidney Poitier, Marlon Brando, and Dustin Hoffman. Despite the success of many of his students, Strasberg was criticized by some members of the acting community for his approach, which some regarded as undisciplined. In 1974 Strasberg made his debut as a film actor in The Godfather Part II.

See also Stanislavski Method.