How do non-smoking actors 'smoke' in films and TV?

Question

I'm curious. What does a non-smoking actor do if their part demands that they light up during the course of a film? Surely they can't be real cigarettes (what would they do if they were in the middle of trying to give up in real life?) so can anybody tell me what happens instead?

Answer 1

Fake cigs exist. A lot of what's on screen is fake.

Under the bright lights needed for filming, for example:

* Rain is almost invisible. In many movies, they've used milk drops instead of water, so that the camera will be able to see it better.
* Ice cream melts. Ever seen a sitcom where the family gets together and eats a nice beautiful looking sundae? Surprise - it's mashed potatoes. Yum.

Fake cigarettes aren't that tough - all you need is something that makes smoke when it burns. Lowering the temperature so that visible water vapor comes out when you exhale normally helps too. That being said, most actors and actresses who smoke on screen probably do smoke in real life, so they just use regular cigarettes.

Answer 2

Actors Who Smoke

Answer 3

It depends on the actor, assuming that the actor in question doesn't actually smoke themselves (which is something that many do, but few admit to these days) then they'll normally use herbal or clove cigarettes. A classic example of this is William B Davis in his role of the Cigarette Smoking Man in the X-Files, who had given up smoking in the 70s, smoked herbal cigarettes.

Answer 4

They do smoke, but not tobacco. You know the smoking man in X-files? He wasnt a smoker! How ironic, huh? They made herbal smokes so it wasnt at all harmful, but gave the same effect. It's the best technique. Fake ciggies with odd powder or CG dont look the same on screen, people can tell (and CG is really expensive for such a redundant special effect). Sucking in the smoke but not inhaling is just as harmful as inhaling, except the damage is going to develop around throat and mouth.

Hmm... maybe I should get me some of those herbal ones...

Answer 5

I also think that they use fake cigars and cigarettes in the movies - the movies try their best not to harm the actors. By the way, I have never known a big actor who doesn't smoke - atleast most of them do.

Answer 6

An actor has to get into the part and they do everything that character did in real life.If the character was fat,they'll gain the weight.When they study the part they research the character until they get it right.Sometimes after wrapping up a movie they have trouble leaving the character behind.

Answer 7

I've been wondering that lately too! Maybe they just hold a lit cig in their mouth and if they need to puff out they use CGI smoke or something. I have no idea...

:-!

Answer 8

The cigerette could be real and they are just doing a Clinton. I didn't inhale. If you really watch them it just look like they are just sucking the smoke into their mouth and blowing it right back out.

Answer 9

Well in Halloween, I bought these fake cigars and it blows out powder. Looks real in the dark. Maybe they use a more advanced version of fake cigars?

Answer 10

they fake it then the editors use computer graphics to make them look like they are smoking