The Power of the Actor: The Chubbuck Technique

by Ivana Chubbuck

The acting coach with star power reveals her cutting-edge performance approach, which has launched some of the most successful careers in Hollywood.

The first book from the leading instructor to the stars, whose client roster includes Brad Pitt, Jim Carrey, Kate Hudson, David Duchovny, and Halle Berry (for an Oscar-winning performance in Monster’s Ball), The Power of the Actor gives every reader directions to excellence. Previous generations of actors were steeped in the teaching traditions of Stanislavski, Strasberg, and Hagen, which focused on feelings. For many of today’s hottest talents, the Chubbuck Technique is the first choice—the new acting technique for the twenty-first century. Taking the theories of those traditional masters into a new realm of psychological and behavioral study, industry veteran Ivana Chubbuck has developed a curriculum that guides students to the heart of a character by finding out what the character wants more than anything else and the behaviors they will use to get it.

In addition to her powerful twelve-step process for creating genuine characters, Ivana Chubbuck:
o Takes well-known scripts, both classic and contemporary, and breaks them down using her process
o Provides sections on special acting skills, such as organically acting drunk, being mentally ill or pregnant, or creating sexual chemistry
o Provides a section on how to audition.

Filled with fascinating behind-the-scenes accounts of how countless celebrities mastered their craft, The Power of the Actor offers a trove of tidbits for fans as well.

Genres: Nonfiction, Film, Theatre, Self Help, Art, Psychology, Writing

400 pages, Hardcover

First published September 20, 2004

Reviews

[Robash · Rating 3 out of 5]

first off, if you are a beginner actor, dont start here! start with an actors work by stanislavsky. this book is more for someone with a bit of acting experience under their belt...there is many advantages to reading this book...my cheif complaint is that it relies heavily on using your own life experiences, your own personal emotional experiences...many actors, myself included,simply dont have rich emotional lives but do have very good imaginations and i suspect this is the case for many sucessful actors in hollywood as well...while she does stress the importance of imagination, she makes the person with a low key social life seem at a disadvantage...I dont think i will be able to incorporate her tool on substitutions because of this and because its too much info in your head all at once...i would take a class with her though and this book is worth reading for sure!

[hibiskuit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow. I finished it. That took a while :,D
First: I didn't hate the book. I really think there is a lot of good advice to find here and the twelve tools are something I integrate kind of regularly in my acting work, especially the first few steps.
But I just couldn't stand her attitude. There were a few things (i.e. reoccuring mentions of drug use/addiction), but what really bugged me, and what's responsible for the 2 stars, were her comments on sexuality. Sometimes she would drop something like "oh, this method also works when you're gay" and I don't know... Am I supposed to be proud of you that you're so open minded?
And as an asexual person it was really tiring for me to read "everyone knows how sexual desire feels, so use it" every few pages. I didn't plan to give this book a lower rating because of that, because maybe she just doesn't know about asexuality. But then there was one sentence near the end of the book which just finally broke the straw for me. She is describing the character of Alexander in Uncle Vanya:
"A hypochondriac, acerbic, stubborn and asexual."
Yeah, sure, absolutely. Those are really insane and bad characteristics to have and we can't blame Yelena for cheating on her husband when he's being like that.

Now that that rant is out of the way, my conclusion:
This is a nice book, full of good advice, but I would say don't take too much time with this. Maybe don't buy but lend it so you don't feel bad for just skimming through, picking out some tools you wanna try and just skipping the rest. She repeats herself a lot and, well, I didn't need her personal opinion on things.

[Ginny Hanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've acted since age 7 and this blew open my understanding of how to prepare for a character. So much good stuff. I must take her class next.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

clear, informative, and thorough guide to chubbuck's 12 steps to acting. loved how many examples she provides, and the exercises in the second half seem quite useful. that being said, there are some problematic generalisations present in this book and i'm not sure how healthy it is for actors to deeply relieve and reimagine SA experiences (as the author repeatedly suggests) - so take the intensity with a grain of salt.

otherwise, keen to see how useful these techniques will be in the future.

[Meaghan O'Connor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is without a doubt THE BEST book for actors I've ever read. Chubbuck's technique is incredibly layered but she does an incredible job breaking it down and making the reader understand it with the human connection. I honestly think this book has made me a better actor. I kind of want to gatekeep this book so these become my secrets...

[Alexander Negrete · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE book for actors!

[Lucie Pop · Rating 3 out of 5]

very interesting book, it helped me very much. i do however think a lot of those sentences were problematic so yeah

[Michael Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far the best book on acting I have ever read. Not everyone is a fan of her methods, but then again most things relating to the arts is highly debatable. But from the point of view of an actor, I think even if you read this and take select slivers of her methods you will be doing yourself a good service.

Great read. For actors and directors alike.

[Chris Chase · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book as structured in a great way and makes very clear and understandable points. The examples are wonderful in usable in rehearsal and on set. There is also a section on how to portray altered states in believable ways. This book helps with the psychological side too. IMO one of the best books to help actors.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and certainly of value but I found it mechanical.

[Nico · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overzichtelijk boek met per instrument een eigen hoofdstuk, en daarnaast een aantal extra toonsoort en een hoofdstuk waarin de 12 kerninstumenten op een zelfde script toegepast wordt. Deze 'instrumenten' zijn niet echt vernieuwend, maar een uitwerking van Stanislavski's methode; de meerwaarde zit vooral in de gestructureerde opsomming en de praktische he toelichting en voorbeelden. De eenvoudige schrijfstijl en voorbeelden maakt het boek laagdrempelig. Het laatste hoofdstuk met uitwerking van een enkel script voelt een beetje dubbel op, aangezien in de afzonderlijke hoofdstukken ook al uitgebreide voorbeelden gegeven werden. Wel prettig dat de lay-out functioneel ondersteunend is. Wat stoort is de grote mate aan namedropping die op geen enkele manier functioneel is behalve de legitimatie van de auteur zelf. Typisch een boek van bijna 400 pagina's dat ook in 100 pagina's weergegeven had kunnen worden.

[Nico Groenenberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overzichtelijk boek met per instrument een eigen hoofdstuk, en daarnaast een aantal extra toonsoort en een hoofdstuk waarin de 12 kerninstumenten op een zelfde script toegepast wordt. Deze 'instrumenten' zijn niet echt vernieuwend, maar een uitwerking van Stanislavski's methode; de meerwaarde zit vooral in de gestructureerde opsomming en de praktische he toelichting en voorbeelden. De eenvoudige schrijfstijl en voorbeelden maakt het boek laagdrempelig. Het laatste hoofdstuk met uitwerking van een enkel script voelt een beetje dubbel op, aangezien in de afzonderlijke hoofdstukken ook al uitgebreide voorbeelden gegeven werden. Wel prettig dat de lay-out functioneel ondersteunend is. Wat stoort is de grote mate aan namedropping die op geen enkele manier functioneel is behalve de legitimatie van de auteur zelf. Typisch een boek van bijna 400 pagina's dat ook in 100 pagina's weergegeven had kunnen worden.

[Daniel Vaca · Rating 5 out of 5]

As much as I love The Intent to Live: Achieving Your True Potential as an Actor, I've always found it a little lacking in its hands-on advice. Sure, Larry discusses the broad concepts that are essential to acting, BUT he can be vague for how to achieve them. And a little weepy, hippy-dippy that I find irritating. I'm also a tough student because I learn in a very specific way; I NEED things spelled out and to be walked through step by step. This book does that, so I'm excited to apply its ideas.

There are some hilarious factual inaccuracies. She says that Saving Private Ryan stars Tom Hanks and Matt Dillon, and that Elisabeth Shue did a play with Peter Skarsgård. Do book editors exist? Can I be a book editor?

[Kylle · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a nice way to reframe what I've been learning so far primarily through Meisner (sorry, I don't want to sound like that person haha), but this might be best as a good review for concepts that actors who have at least taken past lessons on the craft would appreciate most.

There were at least 3 or 4 things I had to bookmark because they were, as lightly as I can put it, triggering concepts and tips to put in a book without warning to the readers. Suffice to say there were a few things I didn't agree with. I don't hate the book, but there are just better ways to start learning about all this (like maybe not treading too near the line between emotional depth and trauma, jeepers).

[Mascherl · Rating 3 out of 5]

One the one hand, this book has quite wholesome and effective role analysis method which is a practical modern adaptation of Stanislavskiy's basics. The technique of assigning all the character's life circumstances as your own is really useful too. But on the other hand, sometimes Chubbuck goes too far in using personal experience, for example suggesting using memories about sexual assault one suffered in the childhood as an acting instrument, which sounds really dangerous to me. Also the book is full of stereotypes about relationships, sexuality, common psycology, professional habits etc. that sound very cheap and low-minded.
In any case this book can only be a small script analysis manual for actors who already have some education and know what they do.

[magdalena · Rating 3 out of 5]

delves into some truly problematic logic and generalisations like assuming everyone will have experienced sexual desire at some point in their lives. i was under the impression that the author has no idea asexuality exists until, around 100 pages later, uncle vanya got referred to as asexual alongside being hypochondriac, acerbic and stubborn. then, i had no doubt the author has no idea what asexuality means.

it's got some really interesting acting tools i'm definitely going to try out and was structured in a way that was easy to follow, but i really can't get past using unresolved trauma as a substitution, i just can't.

somewhere between 2.5 and 3 stars

[Tegan Washington · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 12-Step process that Chubbuck lays out in this guide is thoughtfully immersive. Chubbuck explains all of the different ways to interlock yourself with the character to bring out the best possible performance. The Extra sections in Part 2 on substances and sexual encounters are short, sweet and riddled with exercises to aid your acting. I greatly appreciated the script analysis in Part 3 as it shows how to implement the 12-Steps in a practical way. Though acting is an art and can’t be broken down to a science, I think the process outlined by Chubbuck in this book is a great base set of tools to always keep in your acting toolbox.

[Alvaro Hu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting method and theory to acting. I do think it seems like some of the points are a bit of overthinking to them. Like do you really need a substitute for random objects? There's also some points where she attributes an award winning performance to one of the actors utilizing her method and it being a game-changer to the performance, but I sometimes feel like she's giving herself maybe to big of a pat on the back. Either way, I think the overall methodology, if not the specific points, has changed the way I view the art of acting.

[Evila · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got 100 pages in and dropped. There was good information about acting and certain thing you could apply to psychology but nothing good enough for me to be able to overlook the outdated and rather messy language used in the book to convey points. This author probably meant no harm but it's rather aggressive and reads almost like I'm talking to a gossipy middle aged mean girl rather than reading about acting techniques. Just not for me couldn't get passed a lot of the wording and messy, repetitive explanations.

[Alli Wulfert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chubbuck is the REALEST DEAL!! I never found a ton of success with method acting, but the Chubbuck method is essentially foolproof. A week with these techniques yielded more results than a year of classical training.

A great guide for beginners and an essential tool for any actor- I couldn’t recommend enough. Even if you’re not an actor, the book is captivating and the stories are entertaining. She shares stories of training all sorts of big names and helping them make the decisions that turned into movies we know and love today.

[Erin Geil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been collecting writing books for a fairly long amount of time, ones that I find good anyway. However, I always try to look outside the box as well, I try to find books that aren't specifically about writing that would help my writer's brain with characters in my stories or novels, what have you. This is one of those books that I feel can double for both an actor and a writer. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

[Catalina · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know... i bought this book a long time ago and for all the wrong reasons (i was trying to date an actor back then and he was reading it, i thought it might make me look interesting). I gave it another go this year and i realized that it's a great read for not-actors aswell, it helps a lot with tempering and controlling your emotions in public.

It was really great to read about her interactions with, now, her famous students also.

[Iryna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading a book before my 3-Day workshop with Claire Chubbuck. I started acting in 2019 and only in 2023 I have moved my acting to the next level. I use all the time at least 3-5 steps from 12 for my auditions or acting classes, works like a magic. I was never so confident in what I can do. For me biggest difference makes overall and scene objective, substitution, inner monologue, moment before, 4th wall and doings. Wow wow wow

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the books I have read. A lot of books teach you about phrases to know or what is acting but not how to act and how to learn how to do script analysis and understand the words and actions behind the text. Highly recommend. I can see me reading this book again and again each time I learn something new that I didn't see before.

[Edgar · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to learn a very real way of acting, I recommend this book. Ivanna Chubbuck basically teaches you how to use your pain or emotional experiences as fuel for your scene. It is a great therapeutic way to get rid of your emotional baggage and add truthfulness to a performance. You are using your own Power as an actor to give inspiration or motivation to do something.

[Carly B · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a classic in the acting world, and while I agree that the technique is really useful, the book itself was poorly structured, way too long, rife with missed edits, and clearly written by someone who is not a natural writer. Reading this book felt like getting a cramped seat on a charter bus and having to twist your body all around to get comfortable.

[Rosewater Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read it, yesh, but hadn't finished it, 'cause, well, there's no point to finish it, erm, und ja, there are some horrible, repetitive examples of drug-affection-symptomatics for acting, just awful, guys. Thanks, anyways, see ya.

[Veronika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing knew, but nicely put. Very helpful at times when you get lost in your head. Not only actors should read it, but also everyone who works with storytelling and want viewers and readers to feel like a character is as real as it gets.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the advice here is sound, it's a bit paint-by-numbers for my taste--to get this acting result, do x, y, and z, and voila! The author is also a bit too quick to name drop all of her big name clients. You could do worse in an acting guide, but you could do better too.

[Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read. Put into practice her technique is unlike any other... It's effective and gets you there, yes, but her focus for creating art is on trauma. As if, Love could never be a caveat to create good art. Yes, trauma happens but it's not the ONLY way for actors to reach their emotions.