"Each kid has a different level of expertise and some of them are very raw and inexperienced and some are incredibly mature and experienced. So you just have to go with what they are rather than have some abstract technique that you're going to try to apply to them"
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David Cronenberg pushes back against the fantasy of a universal method. Kids vary wildly in temperament, maturity, and on-set experience; some can parse subtext and hit precise marks, others respond best to play, patience, and concrete cues. The task is to read the person in front of you and adapt in real time, not to worship a doctrine of technique. That stance treats craft as a toolbox rather than a creed, and it treats the child as a collaborator rather than raw material to be molded.
Go with what they are is both pragmatic and ethical. With children, the power imbalance is stark, and an abstract method can turn coercive, flattening individuality in the name of consistency. Meeting each performer where they stand protects their well-being and produces better work. Some young actors thrive when given a simple objective; others need a safe game that lets emotion surface indirectly; still others are startlingly sophisticated and can discuss character architecture and continuity. A director who listens, watches, and adjusts will elicit truth from all three.
Cronenberg’s larger body of work helps illuminate this view. Despite the intellectual rigor and formal control in his films, he has long prized an unforced, lucid performance. He is not known for fetishizing method for its own sake; he values clarity, precision, and an atmosphere where actors can trust their instincts. That sensibility dovetails with the demand to be responsive when working with minors, where sensitivity and flexibility are not optional.
The lesson travels beyond film sets. Teachers, coaches, managers, and parents face the same tension between system and person. A system is useful until it becomes a blindfold. Real expertise is diagnostic: noticing who is in front of you, deciding which tool fits, and changing course when it does not. Creativity, growth, and authenticity emerge when process serves the individual, not the other way around.
Go with what they are is both pragmatic and ethical. With children, the power imbalance is stark, and an abstract method can turn coercive, flattening individuality in the name of consistency. Meeting each performer where they stand protects their well-being and produces better work. Some young actors thrive when given a simple objective; others need a safe game that lets emotion surface indirectly; still others are startlingly sophisticated and can discuss character architecture and continuity. A director who listens, watches, and adjusts will elicit truth from all three.
Cronenberg’s larger body of work helps illuminate this view. Despite the intellectual rigor and formal control in his films, he has long prized an unforced, lucid performance. He is not known for fetishizing method for its own sake; he values clarity, precision, and an atmosphere where actors can trust their instincts. That sensibility dovetails with the demand to be responsive when working with minors, where sensitivity and flexibility are not optional.
The lesson travels beyond film sets. Teachers, coaches, managers, and parents face the same tension between system and person. A system is useful until it becomes a blindfold. Real expertise is diagnostic: noticing who is in front of you, deciding which tool fits, and changing course when it does not. Creativity, growth, and authenticity emerge when process serves the individual, not the other way around.
Quote Details
| Topic | Teaching |
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