# Most Difficult 'Mundane Task' For Actors To Get Right? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 24, 2009, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-mundane-task-for-actors-to-get-right/500796 "2009-06-24T02:41:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-mundane-task-for-actors-to-get-right/500796/21 "2009-06-24T14:12:22Z")
> [@emcee2k](#): > > This is the first thing I thought of. Their cups are obviously empty. The first thing I thought of as well. Why can’t the prop department put coffee into the cups? It doesn’t have to be steaming hot, but coffee has weight and dimension. Something an empty styrofoam cup lacks. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-mundane-task-for-actors-to-get-right/500796/22 "2009-06-24T14:14:52Z")
Or what about even water? ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-mundane-task-for-actors-to-get-right/500796/23 "2009-06-24T14:28:17Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I blinked and flinched every time I fired a gun. They do that. Wasn’t Gibson’s character supposed to be an ex-special-forces type of guy? I’m pretty sure you can’t become a billy-bad-ass like that and still blink and flinch when you fire the gun. ---
**Author:** ![Brandus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@Brandus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brandus)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-mundane-task-for-actors-to-get-right/500796/24 "2009-06-24T14:43:02Z")
Gonna have to go with eating and drinking. It’s always so obvious when they pour an empty pitcher into an empty cup (not even hiding the nozzle so we don’t see the invisible stream of liquid). Then they usually totally over-do the sound of liquid pouring post-production. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Real\_Regency\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@The\_Real\_Regency\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Real_Regency_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-mundane-task-for-actors-to-get-right/500796/25 "2009-06-24T14:57:15Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > I think that generally acting surprised when you in fact exactly know what’s coming is hard to do, and separates the genuine actors from the day time soap ‘stars’. A local theatre director friend of mine once said “Good acting isn’t so much about acting as it is **re** acting” And I agree with you - it must be very hard to hit your marks (especially during live performances) and still look natural. To be more specific I’ve seen some fight scenes in plays that were beautifully executed and others that were ruined when someone’s timing got off. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-mundane-task-for-actors-to-get-right/500796/26 "2009-06-24T15:58:51Z")
I asked my girlfriend, and interestingly, she said “just standing there.” > [@Stephe96](#): > > They also seem to think that it always takes longer to wake up than it really does, particularly in emergency situations. Most people I know can usually snap to in about a second, if they really have to; actors always seem have to be poked and prodded a couple of times. I know what you mean, but this sounds like a failure in directing (‘if they take longer to wake up, it’s more dramatic!’) than in acting. A lot of people, including me, get annoyed when an actor is obviously drinking from an empty cup. But I understand why they do it, at least on film: if there’s liquid in the cup, somebody has to make sure there’s a consistent level of liquid and it doesn’t change from shot to shot, since if it does, somebody in the audience will notice and find _that_ distracting. So they skip the whole thing since it’s never really important. It’s not that they can’t do it, it’s that they don’t bother. > [@Small\_Hen](#): > > Real dead people look waxy. They should nix the actors and make wax replicas. I think _Six Feet Under_ did this, but they were one of the few shows that regularly had dead people on camera for extended periods of time. That probably isn’t practical for everybody. ---
**Author:** ![Arglefraster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@Arglefraster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arglefraster)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-mundane-task-for-actors-to-get-right/500796/27 "2009-06-24T16:05:39Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > I think that generally acting surprised when you in fact exactly know what’s coming is hard to do, and separates the genuine actors from the day time soap ‘stars’. Slight hijack, but I read somewhere that smart cops use this to their advantage. If they suspect someone of, say, murdering someone, if possible they’ll try to surprise the suspect with the news that the person was murdered. If the suspect actually did it, they probably already know why the cop is calling on them, and will probably try to act surprised when they’re given the “news”. Very few people can fake surprise well. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-mundane-task-for-actors-to-get-right/500796/28 "2009-06-24T19:03:20Z")
In one episode of _Jeeves & Wooster_, Stephen Fry did what struck me as a very brave side-task for an actor to undertake: He fried two eggs over-medium and served them to Hugh Laurie. Since he was Jeeves, the eggs had to be flawless, and Stephen did them perfectly. As I recall it, it was one long single-camera take. I wonder how many, “Oh, damn!” moments ruined takes before he got it so right. Particularly after seeing _Stephen Fry in America_, where at one point he talks about how over-easy is anything but easy to accomplish. ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-mundane-task-for-actors-to-get-right/500796/29 "2009-06-24T19:26:17Z")
> [@Tixenfleaz](#): > > Drunkeness seems to be difficult for a lot of actors to pull off effectively. I think it has to do with the slurring,or lack thereof. Glazed eyes are also a bit hard to fake, I would imagine. One of the few times I was building a set for the theater rather than a movie, I met a guy who was _awesome_ at feigning drunkenness! His eyes would get all glassy and everything. He said the trick to the foggy eyes was to focus your eyes as if you could see six or eight inches behind what you were looking at. For example, if he was talking to a man in a hat, he would pretend the guy had see-through head and he would focus his eyes where the back of the hat would be. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-mundane-task-for-actors-to-get-right/500796/30 "2009-06-24T19:26:43Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > I think that generally acting surprised when you in fact exactly know what’s coming is hard to do, and separates the genuine actors from the day time soap ‘stars’. FOTR has three of these instances, two of which are by Ian McKellen: – He stumbles a second before bilbo admits that he has the Ring. – His eyes light up a second before the Ring’s runes are discovered by casting it into a fire. – The hobbits suddenly perk up in fear just _before_ The Drums start in the mines.Some people explain these away by saying that the sound was not coordinated with the audio, which could possibly be true as in all these instances you cannot see the (pre)-actor’s face and the origin of the sound at the same time. But some of it could be Ian McKellen’s pantomime creeping in, as you _want_ to overreact in that sort of burlesque environment. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-mundane-task-for-actors-to-get-right/500796/31 "2009-06-25T01:55:07Z")
Cooking. They usually waaayyy over do it. Cooking is a controlled action. Whipping an egg white isn’t a maniacal, arm-flaying action. Frosting a cake isn’t a workout. It’s delicate. I hate watching actors “cook.” ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-mundane-task-for-actors-to-get-right/500796/32 "2009-06-25T03:30:29Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > Wasn’t Gibson’s character supposed to be an ex-special-forces type of guy? I’m pretty sure you can’t become a billy-bad-ass like that and still blink and flinch when you fire the gun. He was also a recovering suicidal alcoholic. Having a touch of the DTs might make me twitch a bit too when shooting off a revolver… ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-mundane-task-for-actors-to-get-right/500796/33 "2009-06-25T03:47:57Z")
Sex. It’s always a 10-hour long screw-fest, but she covers her breasts in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-mundane-task-for-actors-to-get-right/500796/34 "2009-06-25T03:56:38Z")
> [@Saltire](#): > > In one episode of _Jeeves & Wooster_, Stephen Fry did what struck me as a very brave side-task for an actor to undertake: He fried two eggs over-medium and served them to Hugh Laurie. Since he was Jeeves, the eggs had to be flawless, and Stephen did them perfectly. As I recall it, it was one long single-camera take. As he has said, his surname knocks him out of contention for more upscale roles. Apparently, Great-Grandpa Fry earned his name. ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-mundane-task-for-actors-to-get-right/500796/35 "2009-06-25T04:48:50Z")
> [@Scissorjack](#): > > Talking on the telephone. Relatively few actors can pretend to do this convincingly, and it’s most noticeable on television. That was one of the things I loved about **Dog Day Afternoon** - the telephone scene. One of few occassions of it done right. Again, we’re talking Al Pacino in his prime. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-mundane-task-for-actors-to-get-right/500796/36 "2009-06-25T05:01:36Z")
> [@VarlosZ](#): > > You can also usually tell which actors don’t smoke; they pay too much attention to the cigarette and it looks unnatural. They also tend to just puff it, but constantly. I’ve seen a thousand or more movies and TV shows in which a character driving down a straight road or freeway still feels compelled to wiggle the steering wheel like it’s the wheel of a boat on a choppy sea. I can’t even imagine the road where you’d need to do that. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-mundane-task-for-actors-to-get-right/500796/37 "2009-06-25T05:07:46Z")
In some westerns stagecoach and wagon/buggy drivers jerk the reins constantly. You really only do that when you want the team to stop, start, or do something different than proceeding onward. Vacuuming a floor- they’ll go over the same strip of (usually already clean) carpet 20 times. The same for wiping off a counter or washing/drying dishes; it would take 4 hours if they spent as much time on the entire room/dish/etc. as they do on that one. ---
**Author:** ![Noel\_Prosequi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b19c9b/32.png) [@Noel\_Prosequi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noel_Prosequi)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-mundane-task-for-actors-to-get-right/500796/38 "2009-06-25T05:18:05Z")
> [@Scissorjack](#): > > Talking on the telephone. Relatively few actors can pretend to do this convincingly, and it’s most noticeable on television. True this, but a large part of the problem is the way one-sided phone conversations are written. They are very frequently expository, so the actors are being forced to say stuff no-one ever would in real life. Typical example is the actor on screen repeating everything they’re (ostensibly) being told by the invisible partner in the phone conversation for the benefit of the home viewer. “What? The house is on fire? But everyone got out safe? But the art collection was destroyed?” I’m not saying all actors can do phone conversations naturally, but real one sided phone conversations are almost impossible to follow, so much of the problem is in the writing, which injects unavoidable artificiality into the performance. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-mundane-task-for-actors-to-get-right/500796/39 "2009-06-25T06:05:15Z")
Which is what makes Peter Sellers talking to the Russian Premier in Dr. Strangelove so awesome. Standing there is hard. Eating and drinking is hard. In most TV and probably movies, continuity is important. So the level of liquid in a glass can’t go up. So it’s probably easier to have opaque cups and no liquid. Having directed some off-off b’way stuff I’ll add LEANING THEIR @)(\*#@()!)## LINES! ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2009, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-mundane-task-for-actors-to-get-right/500796/40 "2009-06-25T06:09:09Z")
> [@SHAKES](#): > > Acting high from smoking weed. > > No, that’s not how adults act when stoned. That’s how teenagers act when they are smoking it. Tony Shalhoub should have won an Oscar for “Best Stoner” as Fred in **Galaxy Quest** because that _was_ exactly how adults act when stoned. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-mundane-task-for-actors-to-get-right/500796.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-difficult-mundane-task-for-actors-to-get-right/500796.md?page=3)