Eric Morris (actor)

Last updated
Eric Morris
Born (1931-11-19) November 19, 1931 (age 92)
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Actor, Acting Teacher, Author
Years active1949–present
Known forEric Morris System of Acting
Notable workNo Acting Please (book)
SpouseJoy (2nd wife)
Military career
AllegianceFlag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Service/branch U.S. Army
Website ericmorris.com
Notes
[1]

Eric Morris (born on November 19, 1931) is an American actor, acting teacher and author who developed his own theory of acting based on the works of Lee Strasberg and Martin Landau. Morris created the Eric Morris System of Acting, which provides actors with concrete techniques to explore their own psychology as the underlying source of their challenges.

Contents

Early life

Morris's parents were Russian Immigrants. His father emigrated from Russia to the United States in 1912.[ citation needed ] Morris lived with his family in various apartments in a neighborhood inhabited chiefly by Jewish immigrants from Russia or Poland until he was in seventh grade, when his father bought a house.

He spent some years as a Boy Scout, attaining the rank of Star Scout. He was a soda jerk at Walgreens, and at age fourteen spent some Saturdays doing stand-up comedy at a mafia nightclub. After a false start and a detour in therapy, Morris returned to Wright Junior College in 1950 and took up drama. He enrolled at Northwestern University School of Speech in 1952, as a junior theater major. Alvina Krause taught him acting, though he reports she did not like him; he earned a "C" in the class. In 1978 he bought a house at Lake Arrowhead, fulfilling a wish he had made as a ten-year-old in 1941. [1]

The Eric Morris System

Having published over six books in his theory, Morris claims that his System is derived partly from Lee Strasberg's Method Acting. However, Strasberg's Method focuses too much on craft, according to Morris, and not enough on the actor's instrument. Facing struggle in finding truth, he contemplated his theory while heading the Directors Unit at the Actor's Studio in Los Angeles. Morris's method recognizes the fact that actors have emotional blocks, tension, insecurities and other preventions to achieving a fundamental state of being, and works to clear these blocks, rendering the actor truly organic. In this sense, Morris stresses that acting is essentially living and being.

There are seven major obligations to material, according to Morris: Time and Place, Relationship, Emotional Obligation, Character Obligation, Historic Obligation, Thematic Obligation and Subtextual Obligation. After recognizing these seven obligations, there are the choices the actor utilizes to render these emotions, and finally the approach to which the actors use these choices.

The Eric Morris System has received praise from such actors as Jack Nicholson and Johnny Depp.[ citation needed ]

Acting career

Morris has been acting since 1949. He is an original member of the Screen Actors Guild since 1954. He has worked in over 100 equity plays on stages across the US, including such stages as the Globe Theater and Chicago Rep. Morris has also worked in several television shows, including Lawman , Days of Our Lives , Hogan's Heroes , The New Phil Silvers Show and Fame . Furthermore, Morris has worked in over 25 major motion pictures, including Pork Chop Hill ,[ citation needed ] Battle Beyond the Stars and Mirage.

Filmography

Film
YearFilmRoleNotes
1957Monkey on My BackSoldier
1959Holiday for LoversAirforce Military PoliceUncredited
A Private's AffairOrderlyUncredited
1960 Ma Barker's Killer Brood Fred Barker
1969Strategy of TerrorTippoAlternative title: In Darkness Waiting
1976My Friends Need KillingDr. MacLaine
1980Battle Beyond the StarsFeh
1983 Wavelength Dr. Vernon Cottrell
1989Cipayos (la tercera invasión)English Colonel
1995 Mirage Police captain
1996 Eye for an Eye Columnist
2006Love Hollywood StylePsychologist
Television
YearTitleRoleNotes
1957The Silent ServiceSoldier19 episodes, uncredited
1959 Lawman Joey Young1 episode
1961 Ben Casey Patient1 episode
Dr. Kildare Doctor1 episode, uncredited
1963–1964 The New Phil Silvers Show Stanley3 episodes, uncredited
1965 Kraft Suspense Theatre Tippo2 episodes
1969–1970 Hogan's Heroes Captain Streicker2 episodes
1982 Fame Panel Member1 episode
1988 Mathnet Wharfinger1 episode
Square One Television Wharfinger1 episode

Books

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Method acting</span> Training and rehearsal techniques

Method acting, known as the Method, is a range of rehearsal techniques, as formulated by a number of different theatre practitioners, that seeks to encourage sincere and expressive performances through identifying with, understanding, and experiencing a character's inner motivation and emotions. These techniques are built on Stanislavski's system, developed by the Russian actor and director Konstantin Stanislavski and captured in his books An Actor Prepares, Building a Character, and Creating a Role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Depp</span> American actor (born 1963)

John Christopher Depp II is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for three Academy Awards and two BAFTA awards. His films, in which he has often played eccentric characters, have grossed over $8 billion worldwide, making him one of Hollywood's most bankable stars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Strasberg</span> American theatre director, actor and acting teacher (1901–1982)

Lee Strasberg was an American theatre director, actor and acting teacher. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed as "America's first true theatrical collective". In 1951, he became director of the nonprofit Actors Studio in New York City, considered "the nation's most prestigious acting school," and, in 1966, he was involved in the creation of Actors Studio West in Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanford Meisner</span> American actor and acting teacher (1905-1997)

SanfordMeisner was an American actor and acting teacher who developed an approach to acting instruction that is now known as the Meisner technique. While Meisner was exposed to method acting at the Group Theatre, his approach differed markedly in that he completely abandoned the use of affective memory, a distinct characteristic of method acting. Meisner maintained an emphasis on "the reality of doing", which was the foundation of his approach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stella Adler</span> American actress and acting teacher (1901–1992)

Stella Adler was an American actress and acting teacher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Chekhov</span> Russian actor and director

Mikhail Aleksandrovich Chekhov, known as Michael Chekhov, was a Russian-American actor, director, author, and theatre practitioner. He was a nephew of the playwright Anton Chekhov and a student of Konstantin Stanislavski. Stanislavski referred to him as his most brilliant student.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Lewis (director)</span> American actor and director

Robert Lewis was an American actor, director, teacher, author and founder of the influential Actors Studio in New York in 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Jones (actor, born 1941)</span> American actor (1941–2014)

William Frank Jones, known professionally as Christopher Jones, was an American actor. He was best known for his starring roles in the films Wild in the Streets (1968) and Ryan's Daughter (1970), and for playing the title role in the 1960s television series The Legend of Jesse James.

<i>Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street</i> (2007 film) 2007 film by Tim Burton

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 2007 musical slasher film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by John Logan, based on the stage musical of the same name by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler, which in turn is based on the 1970 play Sweeney Todd by Christopher Bond. The film retells the melodramatic Victorian tale of Sweeney Todd, an English barber and serial killer. After arriving in London, Todd begins seeking revenge on Judge Turpin who wrongfully convicted and exiled him in order to steal his wife. Sweeney Todd commits serial murders on his customers and, with the help of his accomplice, Mrs. Lovett, processes their corpses into meat pies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute</span> American learning institution founded 1969

The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute is an acting school founded in 1969 by actor, director, and acting teacher Lee Strasberg. The Institute is located in Union Square on East 15th Street, also known as Lee Strasberg Way, in New York City, New York. The school has a secondary campus located in Los Angeles, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandra Seacat</span> American actress, director and acting coach (1936–2023)

Sandra Diane Seacat was an American actress, director and acting coach best known for her innovations in acting pedagogy—blending elements of Strasberg, and Jungian dream analysis—and for a handful of coaching success stories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Cooper (director)</span> American actor and filmmaker

Scott Cooper is an American director, screenwriter, producer and former actor. He is known for writing and directing Crazy Heart (2009), Out of the Furnace (2013), Black Mass (2015), Hostiles (2017), and Antlers (2021).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Miano</span> American actor (born 1942)

Robert Miano is an American actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Traylor</span> American actor (1930–1989)

William Hurley Traylor Jr. was an American film, stage, and television actor. He was also, along with his wife, Peggy Feury, an acting coach and founder of The Loft Studio, an acting school attended by such major stars as Sean Penn, Anjelica Huston and Nicolas Cage. He is the father of actresses Stephanie Feury and Susan Traylor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Depp filmography</span>

Johnny Depp is an American actor, producer and musician. He has appeared in films, television series, and video games. He made his film debut in the horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984. In the two following years, Depp appeared in the comedy Private Resort (1985), the war film Platoon (1986), and Slow Burn (1986). A year later, he started playing his recurring role as Officer Tom Hanson in the police procedural television series 21 Jump Street (1987–1990) which he played until the middle of season 4, and during this time, he experienced a rapid rise as a professional actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peggy Feury</span> American actress (1924–1985)

Peggy Feury was an American actress on Broadway, in films, and on television. She became a highly regarded acting teacher in New York and then in Los Angeles. Throughout her career, she taught many notable students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarrant Hightopp</span> Mad Hatter in 2010 film Alice in Wonderland

Tarrant Hightopp, also known as The Mad Hatter, is a fictional character in the 2010 film Alice in Wonderland and its 2016 sequel Alice Through the Looking Glass, based upon the original character from Lewis Carroll's Alice novels. He is portrayed by actor Johnny Depp. He serves as the films' male protagonist.

<i>City of Lies</i> 2018 crime film directed by Brad Furman

City of Lies is a 2018 crime thriller film about the investigations by the Los Angeles Police Department of the murders of rappers Tupac Shakur and the Notorious B.I.G. It is directed by Brad Furman, with a screenplay by Christian Contreras based on the non-fiction book LAbyrinth by Randall Sullivan. The film stars Johnny Depp as retired LAPD detective Russell Poole and Forest Whitaker as journalist Jack Jackson, with Rockmond Dunbar and Neil Brown Jr. also starring.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonia Moore</span>

Sofia Ezarovna Shatsova Helfand, known as Sonia Moore, was a Russian Empire-born American actress, writer and acting teacher. She is known for simplifying Stanislavski's system of acting devised by Konstantin Stanislavski. Moore was a student of Yevgeny Vakhtangov, and later became an acting teacher.

References

  1. 1 2 Morris, Eric (2007). The Diary of a Professional Experiencer: An Autobiographical Journey Into the Evolution of an Acting System. 8004 Fareholm Drive, Los Angeles, California 90046: Ermor Enterprises. ISBN   9780983629924 . Retrieved 2013-12-02.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)

2. Rushton, Susie.(January 18, 2008). Johnny Depp: His performance in Sweeney Todd has been acclaimed as 'stunning in every dimension.' The Independent. Retrieved on 2/14/24 from: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/johnny-depp-his-performance-in-sweeney-todd-has-been-acclaimed-as-stunning-in-every-dimension-771211.html