Why is Acting Hard?
Ok so here's something I was thinking about, probably could have done a bit of research on, but instead decided to just type out what I think instead: Why is acting hard?
I was recently enjoying an episode of Columbo and Peter Falk in the titular role really sparked this question for me. What I'm thinking is this: the best actors just appear to be normal people. They speak smoothly, they react proportionately, they fit your expectations for what someone they are pretending to be, would be like.
Everyone, all day long, people have interactions in which they appear to be normal people. Mostly because they are. They formulate responses to questions. They react predictably to those around them. No one thinks they are "acting", because they are just "being" the person they are. So why is your average person such an awful actor? If you secretly videoed an interaction between two friends, then showed a third party, saying that these were actually two actors you hired for a script you wrote, would they believe you? They would probably think they were top tier actors.
Perhaps the real problem is the writing? Maybe it's that your average person can't write convincing dialogue. Then when they need to act, the content itself gives it away. Slightly unnatural/forced phrases. Improper timing. The disconnect between what they would normally say/think and what the dialogue instructs them to do.
Or it's just the pressure of knowingly being recorded that affects people. Back to those two friends from earlier, if you told them they were being recorded, how much would their behaviour change? Maybe they would think twice about something they were going to say. Maybe they would sit a bit more upright in case their chiropractor saw the film. Even if you told them to "act naturally" and just continue as they were, everything is changed. They can't overcome the pressure.
Could it be that most people are bad liars? I, for one, am an awful liar. Top 5 worst liars of all time. I don't quite know why (perhaps I should write a post exploring that...). But when you're acting, you are, in a way, lying. You're saying things you didn't think of yourself. You're pretending to be something you aren't. If people can tell that you're lying, then they can tell you're acting, which means you're a bad actor. It's the same reason if you have a bad tell, you'd make a lousy poker player. The name of the game is NOT being noticed. So maybe being a good liar makes you a good actor. And being a good liar also makes you a good politician. @Ronald Reagan, @Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
I think another big component is the emotional portion of acting. Although, even if the scene is mundane and doesn't call for any show of emotion (crying, laughing, anger, etc) it can still be evident that people are acting poorly. It obviously makes sense for the emotional scenes that people can't fake their emotions well. But where strong emotions aren't required, why is it still difficult? I think that maybe people are using too much brain power to remember the dialogue, deliver it how they think it should be, etc, to allow the emotional part of their brain to function normally. It's a multi-tasking problem at that point. You're so caught up in the content itself that the subtleties get overridden.
So... have I made any ground? Not really. If you've had this thought, or maybe you're an actor yourself and have the "inside scoop", I'd be interested to hear from you.
Yours Truly,
[Redacted]