How do you cry when you act?

Question

I've heard the secret to acting is to not act. But I don't know how to cry when I'm acting. I can hardly do it in real life.

You think of something sad right? But what if that doesn't work? It doesn't work for me. If anyone has any tips about acting, some info would be real helpful. Thank you!

Answer 1

If you really get into the part and start to understand that person and what they're going through, if what they're going through is enough to make you cry, you will. It just happens.

That or think about dead puppies.

Answer 2

If you are having a difficult time crying in a performance, then the problem is with your acting technique, not your crying technique. Which is why you are having such a hard time fixing it. You are trying to correct the wrong thing.

Don't try to develop some mechanical technique to make yourself cry. Your character, in the context of the play, isn't using some technique to make him/herself cry, it's the conflict or release of conflict within the character, intentions, etc. is making the character cry.

If you focus your attention on a mechanical technique, or focus on some imagined, out-of-script sad event, then you are no longer focused on your character. Your mind is not on the character and the circumstances. Your mind is now on the actor trying to cry. Not the character, thinking, remembering, desiring, reacting, feeling the urge to cry, resisting the urge to cry.

Focus on your character and in playing the moment believably. Focus on the through-line, subtext, intentions, timing and all that other acting stuff. If you did your job well, the tears will be there when they are supposed to be there. Why? Because if it is believable that the character should cry, and if you are fully absorbed in playing the character, then you will cry.

What if you are not fully absorbed in playing the character? The stage is not so predictable performance after performance. For camera work, take after take. What if the tears don't come? If you are doing your acting job well, then don't sweat the tears. Heck, most members of the audience will swear you actually cried even though you did not. Why? because your belief in the character becomes their reality. That's the magic of acting

Answer 3

FIRST, CONSIDER NOT CRYING

"Breaking down" does not necessarily mean crying. Watch TV News. Watch people in horrifying situations. Not all of them cry. Fighting hard not to cry is a great deal more moving than crying. The best coach I had told me NOT to cry. Leave the crying up to the audience. Fight the tears. It's much more effective.

Let the lower lip quiver. Fight it. Quiver. Fight. Clamp your lips tightly together (as if mimicking someone without teeth.

(The opposite of pursing the lips.) Loosen lips. Look down. Raise cheekbones toward eyes. Blink back the tears. Stare. ALTERNATE all these suggested ways of being tearful without crying.

The problem with crying is that the character has to cry but not the actor. And that is TOUGH. In addition, there is nothing quite so damaging to the voice as a glob of stuff in the cords, making them unable to vibrate. Also difficult is "turning off" if you, the person, are "turned on." And the whole thing messes up your makeup.

BUT IF YOU INSIST

Use your most reliable coach (the mirror) and look at yourself crying. What does crying look like?

Try to stiffen the muscles in your eyes, open the eyes a bit wider and resist all temptation to blink. Start doing this several lines before the cry-on-cue line. That should do the trick. I assume some actors get so caught up in the script that they respond tearfully on cue.

Do not get your face into a weird position that feels uncomfortable; instead, relax the muscles in your face.

Think of something sad e.g. a close family member dying. If you happen to be an abnormally happy person, try staring at one bright spot without blinking. This'll make your eyes water.

Think of a memory that you had and you might start crying because you wish you were back in that time.

Try to expose your eyes to the air as much as possible. Keep your eyes open as long as you can. Don't close them until tears form under your eyes.Keeping your eyes open will dry them out making them sting. This is good. Don't close your eyes when they start to hurt or no tears will form.

Make a crying face, which usually involves closing your eyes and scrunching your face. Turn the corners of your lips down a little. Try to force the inner corners of your eyebrows upwards. Wrinkle up your chin like people do right before they start bawling.

Start sobbing (make your crying noises and take deep breaths). Breathe in constantly as if you are hyperventilating.
Imagine tears coming from your eyes and when you feel them get moist, try to squeeze them out.

Answer 4

The real crying is only with method actors.

Even pros on stage and t.v. use an old trick.
I know a few tricks and here is one.

Wrap an onion in a tisue.
when you rub your eyes with it your eyes will water.

remember that acting is only an illusion and not real.
method actors sometimes have trouble breaking and getting out of charictor. That can be dangerous. Stick with acting and not the real thing. You may become realy depressed.

Answer 5

It takes practice, I'm not an actor but i used to use my acting skill to get my parents to tell off my bro when we were little. you have to put yourself in the situation that you are acting so say you are acting the part of a girl whose b/f jus got knocked down by a car, try to feel it, think what it would feel like to be that person, think about how you would act, what would you do!? and just go with it, the tears will come it's more about your imagination than acting skills, you have to feel it. Good luck!! xx

Answer 6

If you are a really good actor you get so into the part that you just do. I mean, I just think of something sad or get into the part, but maybe you can talk to the director and see if you can work around the crying.

Answer 7

Hold on a bit.

If you're talking about crying on stage. there are two things to consider.

#1 -- no one more than five feet away will see the actual tears.

#2 -- audiences find it more interesting/touching to watch someone try NOT to cry. Blubbering generally makes them more uncomfortable than impressed/touched, not to mention that true crying would constrict your throat muscles and obscure your diction..

If you're talking about crying on film, that is usually the result of good editing. Tears can be induced with irritants like glycerin.

Answer 8

If your on stage think of a really sad event that you've ever cried over in your life but if your on a TV show than they usually just put a drop of water on your eyes.

Answer 9

think of something really really really sad, if that doesn't work, do what my friend did, she put liquid eucalyptus (the stuff in Vick's vapor rub) on a Q-Tip and put in under her eyes, it worked perfectly! let me tell u, she cried all right. (the eyes started to water) however i think this will only work if u start crying in the beginning of the scene.

Answer 10

im a fellow actress and this a big proplem too. but try to think of something really sad that comes to ure life. picture that in ure act insdead of what the script says. then just do ure sceane like u whould normaly do. it works really good. well for me, but it might help you