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10+ Tricks That Actors Applied to Look Convincing and Appealing On-Screen

Because an actor's job is frequently ambiguous and intangible, actors and directors have developed a number of different tricks to approach roles over the years. These acting methods serve two purposes: They make it easier to express the mechanics of acting while also providing actors with a toolbox of techniques to use when taking on a specific role.

For example, when filming scenes in the shower, actors never strip off. Additionally, there is a particular "kissing" etiquette that not all actors are aware of. We have broken down the 11 acting tricks actors use to appear more convincing on-screen below. These and other methods are applied to make movie scenes as appealing and realistic as possible, and we wish to share them with you.

Scroll down to find out what they are and tell us if you know any other secrets that actors use while filming.

#1 Actors chew food but don’t swallow it.


johnny depp acting method, feed mint 08 glossSource: © Pulp Fiction / Miramax and co-producers


Actors have to eat in certain scenes, but any scene may necessitate many takes. If celebrities had to eat all of this food, they'd likely gain a lot of weight soon. This is why they apply a simple technique in which they chew the meal in the frame but spit it out into a bucket between shots.

#2 Actors eat a mint before a kissing scene, but this etiquette is not common in all countries.


johnny depp acting method, feed mint 08 glossSource: © Passengers / Columbia Pictures and co-producers


Before shooting a kissing scene, Hollywood actors often eat a mint. However, because it is uncommon in the United Kingdom and Australia, actors from these nations may be confused if offered with a mint. But not all Hollywood celebrities handle these scenes responsibly. Jennifer Lawrence didn't care about her co-stars during filming The Hunger Games and would eat mustard or tuna before kissing someone. Yet, when she began working with Christian Bale and Chris Pratt, she began to use mints as well.

#3 Actors use different gestures to hide their laughter.


johnny depp acting method, feed mint 08 glossSource: © Friends / Warner Bros. Television and co-producers


Some scenes are so hilarious that even the actors laugh. This is why they must use different tricks to disguise their chuckles. Matt LeBlanc said that when Jennifer Aniston covered her face with her hands during Friends filming, she was trying to hide her giggle.

#4 Actors use different tricks to elicit a necessary emotional reaction.


johnny depp acting method, feed mint 08 glossSource: © Dracula / Columbia Pictures and co-producers


Even the most talented actors cannot always achieve the required emotional expression on demand. According to an extra from the film "Dracula", it was difficult to get Winona Ryder to react appropriately when seeing Gary Oldman's role for the first time. So Oldman grabbed a zucchini from a vegetable cart on the street and tucked it behind his back. When Winona turned to face him, Gary pulled it out, eliciting the reaction the film director wanted.

And the director of "It" kept Bill Skarsgård, who played the creepy clown, apart from the child actors until they had to shoot scenes together. As a result, when the kids saw Skarsgård for the first time wearing makeup, they were frightened.

#5 Actors use special contact lenses to play a blind person.


johnny depp acting method, feed mint 08 glossSource: © All I See Is You / SC International Pictures and co-producers


Acting talent alone is not always enough to play a blind person. Blake Lively, for example, had to wear special contact lenses that blocked her eyesight when filming All I See Is You. However, her eyes would adjust to them and she would be able to see a little, so she had to wear thicker and thicker lenses.

#6 Actors wear special suits or apply patches to their bodies during shower scenes.


johnny depp acting method, feed mint 08 glossSource: © Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day / Focus Features and co-producers


In films and TV Shows scenes, actors sometimes take showers or baths. However, they are not necessary to naked in front of the entire camera crew to do this. Mindy Kaling, for example, claimed that she dresses in a strapless nude color bodysuit.

Amy Adams has also appeared in a few of these scenes. She had to apply special patches and stickers to specific body parts in one of her films. Those, however, tend to float away in the sea.

#7 Actresses actually run in heels.


johnny depp acting method, feed mint 08 glossSource: © Jurassic World / Universal Pictures and co-producers


Actresses in action films sometimes have to be in heels. However, it is not that unrealistic; many actresses run in heels on set and do not need stunt doubles.

Bryce Dallas Howard completed ankle exercises and trained as hard as she would for the Olympic Games to learn how to run in heels for the film Jurassic World. Lucy Liu also practiced running in heels for the film Charlie's Angels. The most important lesson she learned was to run on the balls of your feet, not your heels.

#8 Babies cry on set with the help of baby wranglers.


Source: © Friends / Warner Bros. Television and co-producers


Babies cry at appropriate scenes thanks to the efforts of so-called baby wranglers. These people spend a considerable amount of time with the babies and create close bonds with them. This is easier for baby wranglers to get responses from babies. For example, the simplest method to persuade a baby to cry is to cry yourself.

#9 Background actors don’t speak — they just mouth words silently.


Source: © Friends / Warner Bros. Television and co-producers


People in the background of many TV shows and movie scenes are frequently seen having lively discussions. But it's hard to figure out what they're talking about. That's because background actors rarely speak, instead of mouth words silently. The sound effects that resemble a crowd murmur are added in post-production.

#10 Some actors use earphones.


Source: © Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides / Walt Disney Pictures and co-producers, © The Avengers / Marvel Studios and co-producers


Sometimes actors wear little earphones while filming. For example, Johnny Depp listened to a baby crying or other sounds, which let him express appropriate emotions and deliver them just through his eyes.

And Robert Downey Jr. enjoys writing alternate lines for each scene. During filming, his assistant will feed him these lines via an earpiece.

#11 They use different tricks to make actors look sweaty.


Source: © Stranger Things / 21 Laps Entertainment and co-producers


Makeup artists use many techniques to make actors appear sweaty. Some of them make a mixture of water and petroleum jelly. And to make the man who played Billy in Stranger Things' third season look sweaty, he was covered in lip gloss from head to toe. They could have soaked the actor in water, but it was cold on set, so lip gloss was utilized instead.
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