Social Question

mattbrowne's avatar

How uncomfortable do actors feel when they get killed in a movie or series?

Asked by mattbrowne (31436 points ) November 29th, 2010

Of course they know it’s just fiction. It’s just a movie or series. Still.

How do they deal with death?

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22 Answers

mrentropy's avatar

For a single movie I’m not sure why it would affect them at all.

For a TV series or series of movies I guess it would depend on if they wanted to be killed off so they could move on to something else.

If an actor has a problem dying or being killed in a movie then they probably shouldn’t take the role if it’s going to affect them on an emotional level.

jlelandg's avatar

How does Michael C. Hall deal with being Dexter, a serial killer? He pretend kills people all the time. This is a really thought provoking question. I died and went to hell one time in a play and it was a little bit freaky.

john65pennington's avatar

Have you ever watched Days Of Our Lives on tv?

By some miracle, every actor has died and come back to life…...for real.

I assume it does not bother them, as long as the paychecks keep rolling in.

SuperMouse's avatar

I lurve this question because I have always wondered the same thing! I have also wondered how hard it is for an actor to sit in a coffin for the funeral scene. It just seems like it would be really hard to lie there pretending to be dead while they shoot scene over and over and over until they get it just right.

Cruiser's avatar

Killing off of series actors is a very common way to unload actors whose contracts have run out or their popularity is waning or simply want out to pursue other projects.

Judi's avatar

For most actors death scenes are fun. It’s fun to practice convincing deaths in acting classes.
The down side is, in a tv series when you die, you’re fired.

AmWiser's avatar

I would imagine the only thing they feel is ‘Damn, I need to find another job’!

Summum's avatar

I would think it is all in a days work and then it is time to find another days work.

ucme's avatar

I shall quote Sir Laurence Olivier, who while on the set of that fine movie Sleuth remarked to his co-star Dustin Hoffman “It’s called acting dear boy!” Hoffman was known to favour method acting. He’d asked Olivier how he gets into character so quickly & effortlessly. One of my favourite quotes right there & it goes some way to answering your question I find.

fundevogel's avatar

I’m guessing it’s a lot less uncomfortable than simulating sex in front of an entire film crew. Just a guess.

From_The_Ashes's avatar

Probably not as uncomfortable as they would feel if they faced the same death in reality.

andrew's avatar

It’s one of the best things you get to do as an actor—especially a really good death. Unfortunately, if you’re a recurring character on an episodic series, it’s a little bittersweet because you need to start looking for other work.

Dutchess_III's avatar

@Judi You said “The down side is, in a tv series when you die, you’re fired.” I’ve always marveled at how well a person in a series dies, when you know they die because they’ve been given the boot. You would expect to see something in the scene that tells you they’re mad, but I never have.

ucme's avatar

Embarrassing edit : The movie in question was of course Marathon Man What was I thinking? :¬(

mattbrowne's avatar

Well, last night I was watching the DVD of the series “Lost” and it was kind of unexpected that Shannon would die. Because not so long ago Boone died. And I wondered, did the actress or the producer terminate the engagement. If the latter was the case, it’s kind of weird to imagine something like, oh well, your performance wasn’t so good… we need to have you getting killed. And I wondered how this would feel like. I’ve also heard stories of actors wanting to get out, like in Star Trek telling the producers and screenwriter, please let me die soon.

mrentropy's avatar

I think it would be very disappointing to know that the character you play is not a very popular one and that it’s going to cost you a job. The kicker would be that it may not be your (the actor) fault, but the fault of the writers.

Jeruba's avatar

@ucme, in my film class last term, the instructor made mention of those very two, saying that it can be very difficult for a method actor and a stage-trained actor to work together, and that the difference in their styles and approaches can actually work out badly for the film.

ucme's avatar

@Jeruba Oh absolutely, but the movie in question turned out just fine, in my opinion. I think they bounced off each other. Probably learning as they went along. I just think Olivier’s remark was brilliantly put. Loved it!

thekoukoureport's avatar

Best death scene for me was Kevin Spacey in LA Confidential.

Jeruba's avatar

It’s a great quote, @ucme, but please check the movie. Olivier shared a billing with Michael Caine in Sleuth, not Dustin Hoffman.

ucme's avatar

@Jeruba A quick glance through the posts would have afforded you the information that I did indeed correct myself accordingly. I was in fact, fully aware which movie Olivier made his off camera remark. Just had one of those “what the hell have I just said moments” which as I say was immediately rectified. We all have them do we not?

mattbrowne's avatar

When Data died this really got to me, and he wasn’t even human. Well, the actor was, of course.

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