# Can actors just "lose it?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** actor-characters\ **Created:** [June 6, 2024, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-actors-just-lose-it/1002571 "2024-06-06T22:38:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2024, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-actors-just-lose-it/1002571/41 "2024-06-07T23:31:24Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I’ve heard them use the term “going up” for freezing up and forgetting your lines while in a stage performance, though I cannot vouch for if that’s the common term in professional theater. I can’t recall where I came across it, but I’ve definitely read something which used that phrase. Might have been an English author. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-actors-just-lose-it/1002571/42 "2024-06-08T00:20:18Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Addressing the OP: It wouldn’t surprise me at all. The “yips” is a term for musicians (technically known as musical dystonia), probably preceding its use in sports. It refers to spasms in the hands or a sudden inability to play the instrument. It must be scary when it happens. Acting is a creative art, so I don’t see why it wouldn’t happen to them. I’m always astonished by John Krasinski’s ability to - after nine years of mugging for the camera in The Office - just turn that off and ignore the 4th wall. Everything I’ve seen with an extensive (at least 1 minute) internet search is the term was coined by Tommy Armour. He was a golf champion and later coach in the 1920s. I don’t doubt you when you say it’s used in music but I’ve only ever heard it with regards to sports. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-actors-just-lose-it/1002571/43 "2024-06-08T00:28:19Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > > [@Andy\_L](#): > > > > My understanding is that corpsing is laughing out of character (particularly bad when you are playing the corpse, of course). And the folks on the Carol Burnett show used to love to make each other “corpse.” > > I am too young to have watched that when it originally aired but they must have had it in syndication or something because I watched a lot of Carol Burnett growing up. One of the classic moments of corpsing and my favorite skit is the [elephant story](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qqE_WmagjY). (You Tube link.) To this day I still say SNORKIE! and crack up. Apparently it’s pretty common in the theater for an actor who happens to be off stage during a certain part during a play to try to corpse those on stage with antics only they can see. Apparently Dame Judy Dench is infamous for this. There are several Graham Norton clips with actors telling stories about it. Tim Conway didn’t play fair because he never told anyone what he was going to do and in rehearsals he played everything flat without any of the schtick. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-actors-just-lose-it/1002571/44 "2024-06-08T00:50:01Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Tim Conway didn’t play fair because he never told anyone what he was going to do and in rehearsals he played everything flat without any of the schtick. And the result was some of the most hilarious TV EVAH. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-actors-just-lose-it/1002571/45 "2024-06-08T01:05:02Z")
I recall the little Hitler doll he brought out. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-actors-just-lose-it/1002571/46 "2024-06-08T01:43:56Z")
I was going to suggest Madonna’s acting career went off a cliff after _Evita_, but after reviewing her earlier movies it seems that her performances never consistently “had it” so that one could say she lost it. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-actors-just-lose-it/1002571/47 "2024-06-08T03:26:26Z")
Madonna’s main problem as an actress is she doesn’t seem to want to totally get into character. It’s like she doesn’t want the audience to forget it’s really her. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-actors-just-lose-it/1002571/48 "2024-06-08T03:35:55Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > I was going to suggest Madonna’s acting career went off a cliff after _Evita_, I love _Evita,_ and Madonna, so I can’t give an unbiased review. I do however remember _Desperately Seeking Susan_ to be pretty good. I wish she had played herself in the Weird Al biopic. > [@NDP](#): > > Madonna’s main problem as an actress is she doesn’t seem to want to totally get into character. That is basically true, but in the case of Evita she was a lot like the character Eva Peron. She knew what it meant to use her sexuality in a man’s world in order to achieve power and fame, and to have a sincere heart for the fans, and to be Catholic. In so many ways she embodied that character which is why I think she played it well. And why she was desperate to be in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-actors-just-lose-it/1002571/49 "2024-06-08T09:53:56Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I love _Evita,_ and Madonna, so I can’t give an unbiased review. I do however remember _Desperately Seeking Susan_ to be pretty good. I don’t believe I’ve ever said anything bad about _A League Of Their Own_, and I see no reason to start now. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-actors-just-lose-it/1002571/50 "2024-06-08T12:53:18Z")
Oh yeah. I totally forgot she was in that. That was a good role for her. A few years ago I might have volunteered Nic Cage (one of my favorite actors) because he was in so many terrible movies, but he’s had something of a comeback. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-actors-just-lose-it/1002571/51 "2024-06-08T13:08:40Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Everything I’ve seen with an extensive (at least 1 minute) internet search is the term was coined by Tommy Armour. He was a golf champion and later coach in the 1920s. I don’t doubt you when you say it’s used in music but I’ve only ever heard it with regards to sports. Interesting. Yeah, it’s definitely used in music and I’m pretty sure I read about a jazz musician from long ago having “the yips”. More recently, I think Simone Biles used the term for her temporary problems. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-actors-just-lose-it/1002571/52 "2024-06-08T14:12:07Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > More recently, I think Simone Biles used the term for her temporary problems. She talked about having “the twisties,” which is the gymnastics term for a similar sort of mental block while competing. > **[Two years after Tokyo, Simone Biles is coming back from 'the twisties.' Not...](https://apnews.com/article/simone-biles-twisties-olympics-ac79bd5ee9c15abb93f0e337ae027e98)** > > Simone Biles' return to competitive gymnastics has renewed the conversation around “the twisties” that forced her to take herself out of multiple events at the Tokyo Olympics. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-actors-just-lose-it/1002571/53 "2024-06-08T14:44:16Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > > [@Loach](#): > > > > Everything I’ve seen with an extensive (at least 1 minute) internet search is the term was coined by Tommy Armour. He was a golf champion and later coach in the 1920s. I don’t doubt you when you say it’s used in music but I’ve only ever heard it with regards to sports. > > Interesting. Yeah, it’s definitely used in music and I’m pretty sure I read about a jazz musician from long ago having “the yips”. More recently, I think Simone Biles used the term for her temporary problems. It started with golf but it’s more commonly used in baseball. The shortest and easiest throw for an out in baseball is from the second baseman to first. Both Steve Sax and Chuck Knoblach got the yips throwing to first. Even worse, catcher Mackey Sasser started having trouble throwing back to the pitcher after a pitch. He had no problem throwing to second on a steal. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-actors-just-lose-it/1002571/54 "2024-06-08T14:55:42Z")
Ah, right. I stand corrected. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-actors-just-lose-it/1002571/55 "2024-06-08T14:56:00Z")
Jon Lester with the Cubs was sort-of infamous a few years back (IIRC, during the Cubs 2016 World Series run) of at least twice throw the ball, glove and all, to the first baseman for the out, as he had a serious case of the yips throwing to first. (I personally think “golf” when I hear “yips” first, even though I don’t follow golf at all. Not sure why that is.) (Looks like this example was from the 2015 season. Pretty sure he did it again in 2016): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/EyFRO7xMD8I/maxresdefault.jpg "Lester tosses glove to make the out at first") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyFRO7xMD8I) ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-actors-just-lose-it/1002571/56 "2024-06-08T17:07:25Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I love _Evita,_ and Madonna, so I can’t give an unbiased review. You may or may not enjoy Todd in the Shadows’ [CINEMADONNA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqXJ7Fku6vs&list=PLLznZMqdhi_R-cn9enmDGGTUXTprYuk18) series. On the one hand he does not like Madonna much, definitely not her acting. On the other he’s pretty amusing - he’s better known for his reviews of pop music, including [One Hit Wonders](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqE9B1_9TpQ&list=PLLznZMqdhi_T5X0XrVX16lTN0um7Onpkf&index=4&t=7s) and [Trainwreck Records](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQcnxTWGhwM&list=PLLznZMqdhi_RVHtZYrMeoi3Fjg9VNhPAX&index=4). ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-actors-just-lose-it/1002571/57 "2024-06-08T17:49:24Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Ah, right. I stand corrected As a musician, I never heard the term “yips” applied to music, only sports. Then again, I’ve never heard of the yips referred to as a form of focal dystonia until you mentioned it, which I confirmed to be accurate online. There are many examples of focal dystonia in the music world. Renowned bassist Victor Wooten immediately comes to mind. His condition was particularly debilitating, although he has made [a lot of progress](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMwOjY1DNK8) in recent years. It appears to be a combination of mental and neurological issues. I would be surprised if there is a version in the acting world. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-actors-just-lose-it/1002571/58 "2024-06-08T17:51:32Z")
A yip by any other name. . . 😆 ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-actors-just-lose-it/1002571/59 "2024-06-08T17:53:18Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > (I personally think “golf” when I hear “yips” first, even though I don’t follow golf at all. Not sure why that is.) That’s where it showed up on _Curb Your Enthusiasm_: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_xQkoKdPfPw/maxresdefault.jpg "Larry David's surgeon has the yips") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xQkoKdPfPw) ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2024, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-actors-just-lose-it/1002571/60 "2024-06-08T18:25:01Z")
I wonder if certain actors who get famous for their style (Christopher Walken, Nicolas Cage, Joe Pesci, etc.) and then are relentlessly impersonated by numerous others for comedy’s sake have problems in future roles as they may feel they are now doing bad parodies of themselves. When people point out specific tics or mannerisms you have I wonder of you become self conscious of them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-actors-just-lose-it/1002571.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-actors-just-lose-it/1002571.md?page=4)