“I came to L.A. thinking I was going to be the next Al Pacino,” Montes said with a laugh. “I had no idea how difficult it would be. I thought if you worked hard at something, you’d make it. But I didn’t know anyone who loved acting more and got fewer opportunities.”
Being proactive, Montes took matters into his own hands and in 1987 created The Artist Theater Group. Originally, it was a collaborative space for actors, writers, and directors to work on projects together. No teacher, just pure collaboration. But two months in, a friend pulled him aside and told him, “Tony, this is too chaotic. Everyone respects you. You should just teach it.”
Reluctantly, Montes stepped into the role of teacher, but something clicked. “I became the type of teacher I wish I had,” he reflects. Teaching became a passion.
The Montes Method blends ideas from Sanford Meisner, Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, and Michael Chekhov, while incorporating lessons he’s learned from life. Through his exercises, actors focus on six key principles. One: Listen. Two: Live truthfully. Three: Live moment to moment. Four: Don’t live in the past. Five: Detach from the result. Six: Enjoy the journey. Montes credits Meisner for the first four points and Charlie Laughton (a Strasberg-trained coach) for the last two. Montes explains, “At first, these were just acting tools, but I realized they were also a recipe for how I should be living my life.” Not everyone will become an actor, but the principles he teaches are for everyone.
“My whole approach is: there is no acting. We’re not putting on a mask; we’re taking one off. Acting is a search for the self.”
(Anthony Montes)
Not only that, art can save lives. His one-man show Outta the Darkness Into the Light, which touches on heavy subjects like suicide, has prompted six people to reach out to him during moments of crisis since its debut, which has been an opportunity to get these individuals the support they needed.
Montes’ students quickly notice the deeper value of his teachings. “My whole approach is: there is no acting. We’re not putting on a mask; we’re taking one off. Acting is a search for the self,” Montes says. “Marlon Brando used to say we all have the seeds to play everything—from saint to sinner. I believe that.” Likewise, he dislikes the word “performance,” emphasizing that actors should be a character.
After teaching for nine years at the New York Film Academy, Montes decided to step away to focus on acting. While filming his second feature, he got an offer to teach a workshop in Paris. A friend helped him set up another in Berlin, at which point his peers convinced him to call it “The Montes Method”, and everything expanded to other countries from there, with the enthusiasm of his friends and colleagues. Montes says, “When the New York Film Academy let me go, the world opened up. I had hundreds of students reaching out—‘Hey, Anthony, I saw you did a workshop in Paris. If I set one up in Istanbul, would you come teach it?’ and I agreed.”
His latest international classes took place in Tallinn, Estonia, where he taught at Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia (the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre).
Montes describes how “They took notes. They were eager to learn… I had two four-hour classes every day, and there were only seven students in each. We got to do a lot of deep, hands-on work… By the end, they were living in the moment, listening, and applying everything they learned.” He also encourages all of his students to create their own opportunities, saying “If you’re an artist, you’ve got to do something every day for your art.” Montes continues, “There’s no reason for unemployment as an actor today. If this is your passion, write. Pick up your phone and make a movie. Don’t wait for the industry to hand you a role—create it.”
“A play starts at 7:00 p.m., and everyone is seated on-time. The lights go off, and it starts right away. I thought I’d died and gone to theatre heaven.”
(Anthony Montes)
Outside of the classroom, Montes was impressed by Estonia’s theatre culture. He notes how “They respect theatre so much… A play starts at 7:00 p.m., and everyone is seated on-time. The lights go off, and it starts right away. I thought I’d died and gone to theatre heaven.” Among three shows, he watched Macbeth at the famous Estonia Concert Hall, with actors Priit Võigemast and Mait Malmsten and music by the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra—an excellent choice if one were to visit Estonia and sample local theatre culture.
What has kept Montes teaching for all these years isn’t acting on its own—it’s the human connections. He explains, “I love how we can come from all over the world and, within these four walls, all we see is each other. I’ve realized how similar we all are. Same loves, same needs. It’s the governments that mess everything up, not the people.” His time in Estonia reinforced that belief. “The students were open, vulnerable, and willing to trust. But trust is something that has to be earned,” Montes says. To build that trust, he participates in exercises with his students and isn’t afraid to show emotion. He adds, “I won’t ask them to do anything I wouldn’t do myself.”
Looking at where teaching has taken him, Montes declares, “I love storytelling, and I love helping people avoid some of the pitfalls I’ve experienced—not just in acting, but in life.”
To read more about Montes and to see his upcoming events, visit his website at themontesmethod.com .
