Confirmed today by the U.S. Senate to be head of the FBI, Kash Patel reportedly has a slew of foreign investments that could greatly increase his net worth, which may generate concerns over potential conflicts of interest. Patel, one of President Donald Trump's most controversial second-term nominations, is one of several officials who could stand to get richer while in office. 

One of Patel's primary investments is a Chinese fashion brand with a significant presence in the U.S. This will likely draw continuing scrutiny as Patel begins his new job.

What are Patel's foreign interests?
The "scope of Patel's business dealings with foreign entities is hard to fully discern because he in some instances disclosed only minimal information about the nature of his work," said The Associated Press. Most notable is his stock in Elite Depot, the Cayman Islands parent company of Chinese fast fashion brand Shein. 

Patel owns anywhere from $1 million to $5 million of stock in Elite Depot. Other foreign investments include ties to a Czech arms company and the Qatari foreign embassy. 

But his investment in Shein has generated the most scrutiny. His critics have "questioned why the FBI director would maintain a financial stake in a foreign company with Chinese ties," said The Wall Street Journal.

Why could this be a problem?
Trump has slapped tariffs on China, but Patel's ties to Shein mean he has a "personal interest aligned with Chinese business interests," said Mother Jones. The FBI has "cited a 'remote' likelihood" that Patel's "duties would involve the company," said The Independent. 

Patel's ties come "amid reports that the FBI would reduce its focus on the Chinese government's influence operations in the U.S.," said the Financial Times. At the same time, Shein has "plowed funds into a lobbying campaign in western capitals including Washington and London." 

Separately, Patel has "parlayed proximity to Trump" into consulting contracts, corporate board seats and a "role as a sought-after MAGA commentator," with a reported net worth of up to $15 million, said the AP. A spokesperson for Patel has said he will avoid all potential conflicts as FBI director, but his ties with Shein are "truly shocking," Rush Doshi, a former National Security Council official, said on X.

Method acting, the practice of experiencing a role as opposed to merely representing it, has been maligned and venerated in equal measure. The acting technique has evolved considerably through the years, and there are still movie stars who employ the method successfully. Two recent practitioners: Timothée Chalamet "tried his hardest to stay immersed in [Bob] Dylan's shoes" while filming the biopic "A Complete Unknown," and Ariana Grande has been accused of transforming her wardrobe, voice and entire disposition to get into character for "Wicked," said Variety. Both actors are nominated for Oscars at the upcoming 2025 ceremony.

An effort to strip performances of artifice
The Stanislavski Method was first developed by its namesake, Russian theater practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski, who codified his approach in 1906. Lee Strasberg, a former student of Stanislavski, went on to further refine the method, introducing it to Hollywood in the 1950s.

Some actors take the acting style to the extreme, starving themselves or withdrawing from cast members and loved ones to retreat further into character. The resulting experiences — Leonardo DiCaprio sleeping in animal carcasses for "The Revenant" or an already-slender Adrien Brody dropping 30 pounds for "The Pianist" — routinely result in Academy awards.

In a modern world where workers' rights and protections are centered, it's understandable that actors may be less likely to employ these techniques. And with a collective increase in mental health awareness, "questions continue to pop up about the effectiveness and safety of method acting," said Cameron Gorman at Collider.

'Enormous influence'
Strasberg was "actually very opposed" to actors living as their character, said Isaac Butler, the author of "The Method: How the 20th Century Learned to Act," to NPR. But after Robert De Niro won an Oscar for "Raging Bull," a movie for which he trained extensively, and soon became "enshrined as our greatest living American film actor," the acting style exerted an "enormous influence not only on actors but on the PR and awards campaigns for acting." There's a "reason why actors are doing this — because then they can talk about the fact that they did it."