It looks like Adam Sealey could be at the pinnacle of his career - winning an Oscar. He’s had so many awards Adam Sealey is on the verge of attaining the prize that all actors aspire to win. An Oscar. His latest film has already won him notice and accolades, worth it even considering what it cost him. You see, he subscribes to what they call" the method" where you reach inside yourself to bring your own personal trauma and experiences to give life to the part you are playing. Dangerous and scary stuff but it is what he was taught many years ago by his former mentor Jonathan Dors who he also worked with during his hopefully Oscar winning performance. The past, his drama school days, were plagued by controversy and painful events he’s tried to leave behind. So it’s a shock when he receives a message from someone who knows all about it and makes a threat. This is the darkest secret he’s got and someone is clearly willing to expose him, potentially ruining his life. We follow Adam, in the present and the past, getting to know him. What drives this man and what price might he have to pay for the past?

If he wins the Oscar though, it might just be worth it. Even when you consider what it’s really cost him. Adam subscribes to the ‘method’ form of acting, something I’ve been fascinated with over the years. It emerged in the first half of the 20th Century with proponents from James Dean, Marlon Brando and more recently Daniel Day Lewis. I was hooked on stories about Daniel Day Lewis staying in character for the whole of filming, even in his own time. It’s about mining your own experiences and trauma to give authenticity to your performance. It’s fascinating and shows huge commitment to your craft, but I’m equally fascinated by actors who say their craft is merely pretending and they can switch it on and off in an instant. I wondered what toll ‘the method’ takes on the psyche. What happens if you can’t snap back out of the character after months of filming. It seems risky and potentially psychologically damaging.

I started to realise that Adam is a very complex character and his past is vital to understanding him. Drama school is competitive and sometimes manipulation is necessary to get the part. The ‘method’ is a very intense practice, especially if the character the actor is playing also has a complex psychology. In order to play a morally compromised character using the method, there has to be an experience or some darkness there to use. His secret, the thing he uses for his craft, has stayed with him every since. He is clearly affected by it, but without it would he be such a talented actor? Make no mistake this is hard hitting stuff in parts and surprisingly graphic. I found it compelling though and it shows how far people are willing to go to get what they want. But we also see how it affects that person and how toxic it gets, eating away at you all the time. I was fascinated with the psychology of this and felt compelled to keep going to the end.

The Actor is an intense and powerful journey into the world of method acting and how a person’s desire for their artistry can destroy everything in their lives.

This was a good read with a very complex storyline. Very interesting for those involved in the world of acting but a bit too descriptive for me. That said, the book reads very well.

I really liked the concept of this book but it went at breakneck speed I would have preferred a slower pace as it felt a bit frantic.

Adam Sealy has had a roller-coaster of a career in film acting, bursting on to the scene with an acclaimed performance then blowing it all by his behaviour, and now having a chance at redemption with his latest role – a chance at the biggest validation of all, the Oscar. But his long-term mentor, Jonathan Dors, has been accused of being linked to the disappearance of a female student from the Conservatoire, the acting school where Jonathan taught Adam his craft. And Adam has received an anonymous message, just three words – How could you? - which he knows must relate to a shameful incident that happened long ago at the Conservatoire while he was a student. Will either of these events, past and present, scupper everything Adam has worked for?

This sounds like a standard thriller set-up, but it turns out to be so much more. Jonathan Dors is a proponent of the method school of acting, and much of the book is a deep and dark examination of the lengths some actors will go to in their pursuit of authenticity. It’s also about the power that mentors can exert over their young charges, playing on their hunger and ambitions to achieve their own reflected glory. And it’s about egotism, the burning desire for success and artistic recognition, the willingness to trample over the weak on the path to fame.

It’s told in the first person by Adam. There are many aspects of his character that make him unlikeable – he’s driven, egotistical and weak, and has the expectations of stardom that everyone around him should smooth his path and take care of his every want. But as we get to know him better, we learn about his difficult childhood which seems to have made it difficult for him to form deep relationships, either romantic or friendship. This, combined with his desire for success, has also made him vulnerable to the much stronger personality of Jonathan Dors. And that vulnerability has led him to do things that he justifies in the name of his art – some things the world knows about and has been shocked by, and some things, one thing in particular, that no one knows about and that Adam has tried to forget. But if no one knows, then who is it who is asking How could you? How reliable is Adam? Are his feelings of guilt leading him into a nightmare of his mind’s own creation? For Adam, winning the Oscar would be a justification of everything he’d sacrificed, everyone he’d sacrificed along the way. But the reader feels his redemption will not be achieved so easily.

Jonathan is a wonderfully drawn character – a Svengali, a manipulator, a man who will stop at nothing in his vicarious pursuit of his art. He is an expert in psychological cruelty, playing the young actors off against each other way beyond the level of healthy competition, driving them to seek out their deepest fears and traumas, their worst experiences, to give that edge that takes them beyond acting to becoming the characters they play, giving the audience what they most desire – the cannibalistic urge to see genuine suffering on the screen. The weak break down and give up and the strong survive. But it’s the ones in the middle – the ones who see success in acting as a solution to all the problems and baggage in their lives, the ones especially who may not have had a good father figure in their lives – these are the ones who are most susceptible to Jonathan’s manipulations. Jonathan is almost like a cult leader, and to be his chosen one is the greatest aspiration of these young actors, because they believe that to impress this man proves they are truly great. And to get his approval, they will do anything.

All the stories of Weinstein et al and how they use their power over young actors feed into this story, though not overtly – this is about manipulation and control, not sex. We’re already attuned to accept the truth of abuse of power in the film world, and the ambition and lust for stardom that makes some talented young people submit to their abusers. That knowledge kept this story credible even when it pushed at the limits. We’ve also heard the stories of method actors taking it to extremes – living the roles, becoming the people they are portraying. Perhaps they don’t go to the lengths to which Jonathan pushes his charges. But perhaps they do. Or perhaps they would, if they had been brainwashed to believe that the path to the Oscar lay through their own and others’ trauma. And perhaps they too would feel that that five minutes of ultimate fame was a goal worth pursuing, at any cost.

Apparently Chris MacDonald is a playwright, screenwriter and actor as well as a novelist, and attended an elite acting school himself, which explains the feeling of authenticity he achieves in his subject. Very well written, thought provoking, chilling and with a central character in Adam who starts out unlikeable but for whom we come to hope for the possibility of redemption – I loved this book.

A very interesting and thrilling read!
The actor hits all the marks and will leave you wanting more! I could not put this fown once I started

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I found this book interesting, but not necessarily completely engaging. The main character is not likeable at all, and though you can argue about how much of that is down to his experience at drama school, it still doesn't make for a fully engaging narrative. It is an interesting take on how much power role models, and particularly teachers, have over young people and their development, but framing it around an Oscar race made it all seem a bit tacky. I could also have done with the narrative featuring more female characters with agency and proper character development.

An in-depth book about method acting, with ring class people striving and succeeding and the interaction we have during our lives that can cause impacts felt forever. You’ll love the main character and you’ll want to read this in one go. It covers psychology and madness and how we can sway between both. It’s out now and I’ve just bought it for my daughter in law who is….an actor!

This was a really fun look into the dark side of fame! I thought the pacing was a bit slow at times, but the twists and turns were great.

I found this to be quite a difficult book to read but well worth the effort.Centering on a working class student at a prestigious drama school it follows his rise to fame at the Oscars and the price he paid in human and emotional terms to achieve success.On the face of it this details the passion of a driven method acting teacher but it its much more than that. It examines human interactions , love and the pain we can cause those we love in the search for riches and fame.. A very modern story which will divide opinion. A book I am very glad I have read.

I really liked the concept of this, but I actually found it to get a bit too meta for my liking at times, especially right at the beginning - I think I would’ve preferred a slower reveal into this.

Wow, this book deserves to be cheered, I was hooked from the first chapter! It’s an emotional thriller that sends you on a rollercoaster,

This emotional read just kept on giving chapter after chapter. Very addictive and compelling. I enjoyed this one alot. So interesting about actors and acting. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

A tense psychological thriller set in the world of acting and Oscars! Very well written, great pacing, great characters. The dark side of fame!

High brow and thoughtful, this is more than your average crime novel.

Personally, I didn’t love the subject matter or theatrical references but I know it will certainly find its place with readers.

I received this book from Netgalley for an honest, independent review.

Adam Sealey is a well-known actor who was trained by his former mentor Jonathan. Jonathan is a controversial figure in the industry. Adam is a method actor, which means he has to tap into his darkest, personal traumas to bring his roles to life. Adam is on the verge of winning an Oscar, but his world is about to fall apart as one of his personal traumas is about to be exposed.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book as much as I felt I would. While it was dark and complex, I found the pace of the book to be very slow with long descriptions.

I struggled to connect with the characters as, apart from one of them (Nina), many were quite unpleasant.

The book did offer an interesting glimpse into the raw and behind-the-scenes world of acting, but unfortunately, it was not my cup of tea.

There's a lot of whodunit/thriller about theatre and actors but this is the first I read about acting and the force behind a good performance.
Well plotted, emotionally charged, gripping and twisty
I loved it
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I thought this was a riveting thriller. A good mystery set in the world of showbiz and acting. Told in dual timelines, the story alternates between past and present but is easy to follow.

It was well written, tense and fast-paced, and very twisty showing the dark side of fame as well and the good side.

Great book read in two sittings.

If you saw this acted out at a theatre, you'd be standing and applauding for ages at the end! Tense psychological thriller centred around the acting community, where you have to sacrifice everything in order to be in the running for the biggest prizes. Huge characters, marvellously interlinked...it's addictive with twists that you'll not have seen coming...yes please!!

I'm grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this captivating book. From the first page to the last, I was thoroughly engrossed in the story, unable to put it down. The characters were well-developed, the plot was gripping, and the writing was superb. Overall, I immensely enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to fellow readers. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this wonderful reading experience.