Overacting

Overacting (also referred to as hamming or mugging) is the exaggeration of gestures and speech when acting. It may be unintentional, particularly in the case of a bad actor, or be required for the role. For the latter, it is commonly used in comical situations or to stress the evil characteristics of a villain. Since the perception of acting quality differs between people the extent of overacting can be subjective.

Overacting can be excessively dramatic to the point where the performance becomes awkward or unintentionally amusing to the audience.

Overacting is sometimes known as "chewing the scenery".^[1]

Unintentional

William Shatner has been called an overactor for his role in Star Trek.

Unintentional overacting is caused by poor acting, either a good actor performing badly in one scene or a generally poor actor. However, it is not always the fault of the actor as the director has the ultimate role of assessing and influencing the acting. It is sometimes the result of overthinking an action or doing more than what's needed.

The portrayal of an emotion is a common time for overacting, as is a death scene. Theater actors often have to project their voices more than film actors and enunciation can lead to exaggeration. However, stage actors do not have the benefit of a boom mic or other sound equipment, unlike film actors, and it therefore takes more skill to allow the audience to hear every word while not shouting or overemphasizing.

Some unintentional overacting can find itself the subject of parody. William Shatner's performance in the original Star Trek series has been frequently parodied across numerous comedy television shows.^[2]

Intentional

Some roles require overly-exaggerated character acting, particularly those in comedy films. For example, the breakthrough roles for Jim Carrey (in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and The Mask) saw him portray the lead characters in a very flamboyant fashion, as the script demanded. This has led to him being classed as an "overactor",^[3] even though he has played several "straight" roles since.^[4]

Overacting may be used to portray an outlandish character, or to stress the evil characteristics of a villain. Gary Oldman, synonymous with Hollywood villains and over-the-top roles,^[5] has portrayed many overstated characters, which he has himself described as "wacky or strange".^[6] Gene Siskel (who described Oldman as a "wonderful" actor^[7]) opined that his performance as psychotic DEA enforcer Norman Stanfield in Léon: The Professional was "overacting",^[8] yet it was ranked #43 in the Online Film Critics Society's "Top 100 Villains of All Time" in 2002,^[9] and named by Total Film as one of the five best performances of Oldman's career in 2011.^[10]

Tom Hulce received an Academy Award nomination for his deliberately exaggerated role in Amadeus.

See also

• B movie
• Melodrama

References

1. ^ Chew the scenery worldwidewords.org
2. ^ NNDB "William Shatner". Accessed 29 July 2006.
3. ^ See, for example, the closing credits of 'Liar Liar: Internet Movie Database. "Memorable Quotes from Liar Liar" Accessed 29 July 2006.
4. ^ Gilliver, David. 1998. "Film Review: The Truman Show". Accessed 29 July 2006.
5. ^ [http://www.movievillains.com/archives/gary_oldman/ Movie Villains: Gary Oldman Archives
6. ^ Winning, Josh. Best Movies: The film chameleon's greatest moments (The Dark Knight). Total Film. 11 April, 2011. Retrieved 4 October, 2011.
7. ^ "Week of May 10, 1997: The Fifth Element review". At the Movies. 10 May 1997. No. 35, season 11.
8. ^ "Week of November 19, 1994: The Professional review". At the Movies. 19 November 1994. No. 10, season 9.
9. ^ "Top 100 Villains of All Time". Online Film Critics Society
10. ^ Winning, Josh. Best Movies: The film chameleon’s greatest moments (Léon). Total Film. 11 April, 2011. Retrieved 4 October, 2011.