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Enforced Method Acting: Difference between revisions
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== Fictional Examples ==
=== Anime and Manga ===
* The first chapter of the manga ''[[Gundam Sousei]]'' (a [[Dramatization]] of the production of ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]'') does this with the infamous '[[Bright Slap]]' scene by having [[Yoshiyuki Tomino]] punch [[Tohru Furuya]] in the face after several unimpressive line reads.▼
* In ''[[Bleach]]'' episode 298, Ichigo is filming a movie directed by Abarai Renji, with special effects provided by Kuchiki Byakuya. Said special effects include Byakuya ''attacking Ichigo with his Bankai''. Ouch.▼
=== Films - Animated ===
* The fictional director in ''[[Bolt]]'' ran Bolt's ''life'' this way. The words "method acting" are even mentioned by the exec who came to evaluate the show.
{{quote|'''Director:''' And if the dog believes it... the ''audience'' will believe it.}}
=== Films - Live-Action ===
* In ''[[Superman Returns]]'', [[Magnificent Bastard|Lex Luthor]] cuts the brakes on his assistant's car so that her screams for help will be authentic. When she confronts him later, he explains that if she hadn't really been terrified, Superman would be able to tell.
* ''[[Tropic Thunder]]'' uses this trope in the plot, which involves a director filming a movie about [[The Vietnam War]] dropping his five actors into the Golden Triangle of Asia while riddling the jungle with hidden cameras as advised by [[Shell Shocked Senior]] Four Leaf Tayback.
* ''[[The Truman Show]]'' takes this concept, and [[Deconstruction|runs it into the ground]].
* In ''[[
* In-universe examples for the animated band [[Gorillaz]]: according to their biography, ''Rise of the Ogre'', the band weren't told by their [[Literary Agent Hypothesis|director Jamie Hewlett]] about the [[Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever|300-foot elk]] that appears at the end of the "19/2000" video, so they'd look appropriately surprised. Also, the [[Groin Attack]] Murdoc suffers at the hands of the zombie ape in "Clint Eastwood" was apparently real, and caused his genitals to "swell up like big purple melons".▼
* Just the basic concept of ''[[Bowfinger]]'' is an extreme version of this, where the main lead, Kit Ramsey, doesn't even ''know'' he's in a movie, and all his scenes are filmed in secret because the titular film director couldn't afford to actually ''hire'' him.▼
* The opening-night production of ''[[Macbeth]]'' in ''[[Slings and Arrows]]'' includes an [[In-Universe]] version; ''[[Slings and Arrows]]'' is a story about a theater company, and director Geoffrey Tennant is not above manipulating his performers to get results. In order to get the performance he wants out of his recalcitrant Macbeth, Geoffrey changes all the blocking at the last minute, inserts a small tree at a strategic location, and gives secret instructions to Macbeth's opponents in fight scenes.▼
▲* The first chapter of the manga ''[[Gundam Sousei]]'' (a [[Dramatization]] of the production of ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam]]'') does this with the infamous '[[Bright Slap]]' scene by having [[Yoshiyuki Tomino]] punch [[Tohru Furuya]] in the face after several unimpressive line reads.
=== Literature ===
* In [[Barbara Hambley]]'s ''[[Search the Seven Hills]]'', a troupe of girls playing nymphs is entertaining a Roman banquet when a troupe of actors as satyrs burst out on them. Marcus notes that either the girls were consummate actresses, or they had not expected to be actually molested by the satyrs.
* In ''[[The Simpsons]]'', when filming the Radioactive Man movie, the director informs Rainier Wolfcastle at the last second that the acid being used in one of the scenes is real. What follows is one of the most memorable [[Goggles Do Nothing|moments]] in Simpsons history.▼
* One [[Sherlock Holmes]] story, "The Dying Detective", has Holmes appear to be dying. Of course, it turns out that he's perfectly fine and was only acting so that Watson's reactions to it (and subsequent conversation with the suspect who had tried to poison him) would be genuine enough to convince said suspect.
** Of course the method in which Holmes "acts" sick qualifies under the trope as well: he spends three days without eating or drinking, literally putting himself to death's door to make the deception as authentic as possible!
** A far crueler example is when Holmes fakes his own death for ''three years'', leaving Watson alone even though his wife has died. Upon Holmes's return, Watson is quick to reprimand him for this. Holmes states that it was essential the world believed him dead, and Watson's behavior wouldn't be convincing enough if it was an act.
* The desperate haphazard plan Fisk comes up with in the first book of the ''[[Knight and Rogue Series]]'', to drug the [[Mad Scientist]] Ceciel they're escaping from and pretend that he and she are going out to perform some sacrifice or another with Michael, nearly falls apart when a guard see's Ceciel's rather vacant face and bad actor Michael's fairly unconcerned expression. There's nothing to be done about the drugged look, so Fisk gets Michael to panic by beginning to talk about how they're sacrificing his 'fertility'.▼
▲* In ''[[Seltzer and Friedberg|Epic Movie]]'', while trying to escape a prison cell, Captain Swallows stabs Edward in the abdomen to ensure his pain is realistic enough to get the guards in.
* In ''[[The Hunger Games]],'' this happens repeatedly with Katniss. She can't act, and so is never warned about Peeta's interview strategies so her reactions will be genuine. {{spoiler|By the third book, this has escalated to dropping her into a war zone in order to film propaganda because the studio shoots never work.}}▼
▲* In ''[[Bleach]]'' episode 298, Ichigo is filming a movie directed by Abarai Renji, with special effects provided by Kuchiki Byakuya. Said special effects include Byakuya ''attacking Ichigo with his Bankai''. Ouch.
=== Live-Action TV ===
▲* The opening-night production of ''[[Macbeth]]'' in ''[[Slings and Arrows]]'' includes an [[In-Universe]] version; ''[[Slings and Arrows]]'' is a story about a theater company, and director Geoffrey Tennant is not above manipulating his performers to get results. In order to get the performance he wants out of his recalcitrant Macbeth, Geoffrey changes all the blocking at the last minute, inserts a small tree at a strategic location, and gives secret instructions to Macbeth's opponents in fight scenes.
* The Conspiracy Theories episode of ''[[Community]]'' takes this [[Up to Eleven]], with Jeff, Annie, the Dean, a police officer, and the theater professor all shooting each other with fake guns in order to prove a point. Each the time, ''someone'' thinks that the gun is real and freaks out.
* In the ''[[Futurama]]'' episode "My Three Suns", Bender tries this in order to make Fry cry [[It Makes Sense in Context|to free the emperor trapped inside of him.]] Bender loudly exclaims about seeing Leela being captured and killed by rioters. It works, but only just so. Then Leela breaks the illusion by showing that she was entirely unharmed. [[Cutting the Knot|They get Fry to cry by beating the crap out of him.]]▼
* In one of the bonus strips from ''[[The Order of the Stick|Order of the Stick]]'', Elan is trying to gain roleplaying XP by bemoaning a light wound. Belkar decides to help him with his motivation. Injury and Stabbing Ensue.▼
* In ''[[Malcolm in the Middle]]'' Reese breaks a leg when he sneaked out in the minibike Lois had under lock. They try to make it look like Craig ran over his leg with the car. When Reese's screams don't sound very believable Dewey proceeds to [[Squick|punch him in the bump that is his broken bone]].
* In ''[[Breakout Kings]]'', Ray forces this upon Lloyd when he enacts a plan that involves {{spoiler|letting their captive crook swipe his keys and his (unloaded) gun so that she'll take them straight to her partner as hostages}}. Needless to say, Lloyd is less than thrilled.
▲* Just the basic concept of ''[[Bowfinger]]'' is an extreme version of this, where the main lead, Kit Ramsey, doesn't even ''know'' he's in a movie, and all his scenes are filmed in secret because the titular film director couldn't afford to actually ''hire'' him.
=== Web Comics ===
▲* The desperate haphazard plan Fisk comes up with in the first book of the ''[[Knight and Rogue Series]]'', to drug the [[Mad Scientist]] Ceciel they're escaping from and pretend that he and she are going out to perform some sacrifice or another with Michael, nearly falls apart when a guard see's Ceciel's rather vacant face and bad actor Michael's fairly unconcerned expression. There's nothing to be done about the drugged look, so Fisk gets Michael to panic by beginning to talk about how they're sacrificing his 'fertility'.
▲* In one of the bonus strips from ''[[The
▲* In ''[[The Hunger Games]],'' this happens repeatedly with Katniss. She can't act, and so is never warned about Peeta's interview strategies so her reactions will be genuine. {{spoiler|By the third book, this has escalated to dropping her into a war zone in order to film propaganda because the studio shoots never work.}}
=== Western Animation ===
▲* In-universe examples for the animated band [[Gorillaz]]: according to their biography, ''Rise of the Ogre'', the band weren't told by their [[Literary Agent Hypothesis|director Jamie Hewlett]] about the [[Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever|300-foot elk]] that appears at the end of the "19/2000" video, so they'd look appropriately surprised. Also, the [[Groin Attack]] Murdoc suffers at the hands of the zombie ape in "Clint Eastwood" was apparently real, and caused his genitals to "swell up like big purple melons".
▲* In ''[[The Simpsons]]'', when filming the Radioactive Man movie, the director informs Rainier Wolfcastle at the last second that the acid being used in one of the scenes is real. What follows is one of the most memorable [[Goggles Do Nothing|moments]] in Simpsons history.
▲* In the ''[[Futurama]]'' episode "My Three Suns", Bender tries this in order to make Fry cry [[It Makes Sense in Context|to free the emperor trapped inside of him.]] Bender loudly exclaims about seeing Leela being captured and killed by rioters. It works, but only just so. Then Leela breaks the illusion by showing that she was entirely unharmed. [[Cutting the Knot|They get Fry to cry by beating the crap out of him.]]
{{reflist}}
[[Category:
[[Category:Trivia Trope]]▼
[[Category:Creator Speak]]
[[Category:Film Tropes]]
[[Category:
▲[[Category:Trivia Trope]]
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