The Montauk Group Celebrating 19 Years!
Training actors in the technique devised by Konstantine Stanislavski’s System and Lee Strasberg’s “The Method.”
” Lee Strasberg only liked two people, Gary Swanson and Al Pacino” – Mickey Rourke
“Gary is a fierce talent!”
– Jeremy Iacone
Writer, The Bone Collector
Gary Swanson
The Story
Gary Swanson is a working actor, not a teacher wishing to be one. He is the last of the actors who studied and knew Lee Strasberg, the “Father Of The Method”. Gary worked with the maestro for the last 7 years of his life, both in Lee’s private classes and as a Life Time Member of The Actors Studio.
Along with his extensive acting resume, Gary was the first of four teachers to pilot The Actors Studio MFA Program at The New School Of Social Research in 1993 with Bradley Cooper as a graduate.
New York and Montauk classes are open to former and new students, as well as working professionals, who need to “risk” new growth in acting.
Inquire about applications, auditions, and interviews held in New York City and Montauk. We are filling the remaining 5 spaces for the 2025 Montauk Art Theater Summer Program.
We continue to create a better world by inviting true artists to do what Elia Kazan and Lee Strasberg did for generations – they taught, gave back and passed the baton to those destined to break new ground for the future artists of the world. Gary invites successful directors, producers, writers, actors, casting agents, and musicians to participate to ensure this work will not be lost to our culture.
our mission
Gary Has Starred in 15 Feature Films
Gary was recently contacted to do an interview for “Vice Squad” – a film Gary had the lead in, released and becoming a major hit in 1982. It was a low budget film that competed with the major studio films of that era. “Vice Squad” was made for $3 million dollars and to date has taken in $100 million over the course of years. It finally went out of print but something happened: the film had a resurgence and fans began to request that the film be made available. It is now a cult classic.
The owners of the film are re-releasing “Vice Squad” and distributing it worldwide once again. The new producers interviewed Gary and the video will be attached to the DVD which will be released by August 15th 2024.
Gary’s Students Have Been Featured In
The Wizard of Lies
The Wolf of Wall Street
Desperate Housewives (TV series)
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 1 & 2
The Good Wife
The Bone Collector
The Nanny
Benny and June
My Big Fat Greek Life
Oy Vey! My Son is Gay
Orange is the New Black
Law & Order SVU
You Don’t Mess With The Zohan
Ugly Betty
Til Death
Boston Legal
The King of Queens
Red Riding Hood
Touched By An Angel
Murder She Wrote
The Breakfast Club
Yellow Birds
Alto Knights
The Comedian
Boardwalk Empire
After
High Rollers
Fortress: Sniper’s Eye
Cash Out
And many more…
gary's reel
