Sanford Meisner (August 31, 1905 – February 2, 1997), also known as Sandy, 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, like
Konstantin Stanislavski, 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.