#acting post

hey!! sorry it took me a couple days.

(gonna start prefacing my acting posts with: remember my acting opinions are all subjective but i did go to drama school and have a degree in acting! i just love talking about it)

in my opinion their chemistry is still a strong as it always has been, the only thing that hinders things in scenes sometimes is writing and unnatural dialogue. it’s very clear to me that they still work super well off of each other and like, are able to riff off of one another in the scenes. noel is naturally a stronger actor than cam, but like any actor - cam’s work is complimented with a good scene partner! there’s a reason why ian’s other relationships aren’t very interesting lol — there’s no chemistry there!

they’ve definitely developed as scene partners and you’re right — they’ve never been bad but they’ve clearly grown familiar with one another over time and that shows in the work. you didn’t ask but, like if you look at them in season 1:

in this scene in particular, they really clearly feel super comfortable with one another. like cam’s smile here in response to say that again and i’ll rip your tongue out of your head wouldn’t have been scripted — that’s all on him reading the moment and reacting properly to it. mick’s little smile from noel as a response is such a perfect read of their relationship to one another at this point. i love knowing that they worked so well with each other already this early on in the production of the show.

the difference now is the quality in writing and the shift towards comedy. there’s little stakes involved in the writing — like ian and mickey fight, but we know they’re never going to break up. cam and noel know they’re never going to break up. mickey and ian know they’re never going to break up. there’s nothing really on the line or at risk. good stakes are key to an actor’s performance. there’s nothing really going on in the annoyed bickering scenes. i think this is why the scenes w/ sexual passion and genuine angst (eg: the hallway scene from hos) tend to land better, because cam and noel have so much more to work with and therefore, more to work off from each other. and you’re right, the friendly bickering scenes are a lot more interesting to watch because the scenes are way more endearing and like, show a different side to their relationship. we’ve seen enough anger from their relationship for a lifetime and i’m sure cam and noel feel the same (see cam’s line abt them not hitting each other in that video that dropped earlier)

i’m happy to talk about my favourite scenes of theirs and where i think they work particularly well off of one another :)

hey!!

so, i’ve rewatched the scene a few times and i’m pretty certain it is noel! logistically, it wouldn’t make any sense for them to use a body double - especially not in a pandemic where they’re trying to minimise actors on set and stuff. plus, it’s pretty standard for actors to be a part of the sex scenes their characters are having, if that makes sense. i feel like it’s out of the ordinary (and probably more importantly, unprofessional) for an actor to request differently. i’m sure the framing was shot like that just to make sure the dialogue between them landed.

i’ve not had a huge amount of experience doing intimate scenes but the ones i have done, i’ve always found it easier to do it with someone you’re friends with. you end up having a lot more fun that way. the best way of looking at it, shit is only awkward if you make it awkward! it’s a personal preference though and i’m sure other actors would probably say they prefer it when they’re strangers/less close.

here’s the thing about cam and noel though - they’re both incredibly professional with their work. when you’re professional about challenging or compromising material, it’s just acting and nothing else needs to be said. i’m sure after 10 years of working together, they have absolutely no issue with filming a silly sex scene for the show. they’ve been playing a couple for a long time and as they’ve said before in interviews, they play off each other a lot in scenes because they’re so comfortable around one another.

hey heather! sorry this took me a while, i wanted to rewatch the episode before i commented and i finally got round to doing that last night. also, i’ve stopped using my cc on twitter so feel free to send any more questions here! 

(again, prefacing this with: my acting opinions are subjective, but i did go to drama school and have a degree in it! i just like talking about it.) 

i think you’re exactly right! they’re definitely giving whm something more to play with this season, his interactions with franny in the last episode were already worlds more interesting than things that we’ve seen the last half of the whole show. in my opinion, this lies in the new stakes being presented to frank. 

for the large majority of the show, we’re not worried about frank. we’re never worried about frank. that is because we know frank will find his way out of whatever stupid situation he’s got himself into with no consequences and it’ll be forgotten the next season. it’s boring to watch – and honestly, it looks boring to whm too. acting is supposed to be truthful and reactive from the moment but the reason we all switch off during frank’s scenes is because whm has fallen into a repetitive pattern. he is bored and it’s showing through his work. nothing about his performance is new, nothing is spontaneous, it’s all the same. for the last 6ish seasons or so, it’s all been the same. a lot of this, obviously, lies on the lazy writers’ shoulders – but, an actor does have a responsibility to be truthful and it’s a shame that someone who is so talented has dropped the ball. 

the difference with that and what we’re seeing now is i think they’re finally ready to kill frank off and what’s a better consequence for a lifetime of shitty actions than to die without a single person batting an eyelid? being forgotten in death is a huge new consequence that frank has never necessarily faced so seriously – he’s come close to death numerous times before, but something about it this time feels different. obviously, we as audience members know that it’s the final season but so does whm! even if frank doesn’t know for sure that his days are almost up, there was definitely a moment of regret from frank during his scenes with franny that we haven’t seen in a long time. whm actually has something to properly play with here – a new relationship with someone younger (thus reminding him of his age) plus it’s a family member, a young family member to remind him of all the time he’s wasted with his own kids. there’s a lot more meat there than there has been on any of his previous other storylines and with that, comes better acting. quite frankly whm’s work feels better because it is better, because the subject matter is new and different so he can’t fall back into the patterns he does with frank. because frank dealing with his failings as a parental figure – even just touching on it for a moment with franny – has 100x bigger stakes than say, hoboloco or any of the other random sls we’ve had to deal with over the years. 

plus! he’s working with a kid – kids are the best scene partners because they force you to stay reactive and on your toes as they aren’t necessarily always going to stick to the script. it’s the reason why emma and ethan are a hell of a lot better as kids – you’ve got less habits ingrained into you when you’re that young (eg: how you should react in a scene because of how you want to be perceived by the audience), so you’re naturally a lot more truthfully reactive to different circumstances. 

long story short: the stakes are higher so william h macy actually has some risk to play with. i’m not naive enough to think that frank had some huge revelation over his failings as a father with franny, but i definitely think they’re leading somewhere in that direction! did anyone have being interested in frank’s sl on their s11 bingo card? 

never apologise for adding to questions about acting!

but just to adding onto my post — i don’t think noel being gone for a long time impacted their chemistry at all!

Coming back from Mexico on a plane instead of using her powers was probably one of worst mistakes Ororo has made in a while. Sure, it gave her a chance to protect more people in case of an emergency or if something went astray. But lately her plane rides have been nothing but trouble for her.

Her last ride, only a few months ago was to Egypt. Her home country. The young woman usually found herself visiting there more than a few times a year to see old friends, some distant ‘family’. Some of the teachers that trained her to be where she is now. Not only did she feel the need to go back and appreciate them but, it just felt nice to see them again. They were there for her when nobody else was, and she appreciates that. Treating them with nothing but respect as well as occasionally getting them gifts and returning favors. On the ride back, her plane was attacked, nearly causing the death of herself and many other people. With great difficulty, she managed to carry the plane to a small island of the coast of Morocco. Although ever since then, she’s been under government radar. Them thinking she was the cause of the attack.

Mexico was a country she often visited. Mostly because she had a few students who chose to live there instead of Jean Grey. Which she respects, she isn’t one to force anyone to do something they are not comfortable with. She tends to visit them a few time a month mostly because mass majority of them are younger. Not fully knowledgeable with their abilities. That was her job, training the young to use their powers for good. Aiding the reveal of their true potential. This trip was sudden, one of her newer students got in a bit of an accident and for once, Ororo was the only one who could fix it. Hence the sudden leave without a word.

On arriving back to the United States, Munroe noticed there were a few more government agents on the plane than usual. The government hated her, for some reason. Despite her being on the ‘good’ mutants list. Mutants and humans never really had a good relationship. Although, Ororo accepted everyone as a friend. No matter how morally bad they were. As long as they respected her, she would respect them.