Haha, sorry TorNorth, I hope I didn't ruin things for you! There IS real crying on TV/movie sets, trust me. I'll hopefully be doing some this weekend.

Date: Yesterday

Time: I don't really remember, it was about 9pm I guess.

Duration: maybe 15-30 seconds?

Reason for Crying: I was reading a New York Times article about how grief and it made me sad/moved.

Location: Home, on the couch.

Crying Intensity: It was only one tear, maybe two. It wasn't really proper crying.

Reation to Tears: I let them sit there for a moment and then I wiped the tracks away with my fingers and sniffled a lot. I'm a snotty crier (Le sigh) so even two tears gets my nose running annoyingly. I was trying to keep it back because I didn't have any tissue within arms reach, but it dripped and I thought, screw it, and wiped my nose on my shirt sleeve. I didn't even try to be delicate about it, I just wiped it all away. It actually felt really good. If I were a cute boy I'd be in love with myself, haha...

Lip curled?: No. I am not a lip curler. If I do actually cry, I'm a "smily" crier, mouth curling up.

People Present: Alone.



 

Wow, thanks for the warm welcome, guys!

To those asking, I'm a screen actress (did some stage growing up, but I soon found that I much preferred screen). They're such completely different animals in terms of crying (and many other ways, but that's another topic) because on stage you can get away with not shedding real tears. No one is looking at a close-up of your face. It's often better that you don't "truly" cry, because crying messes with your voice, which you need to project on stage. I remember being told that your character should be crying but YOU shouldn't. Tricky!

On the screen, however, you have as many takes as you need, and your face is often the sole focus. It drives me insane on TV/movies when actors sob with no tears! Even when it's not someone I find attractive, it bothers me because it takes me out of the moment. And I can also always tell when they've used those dreadful glycerine drops. The tears look weird.

To get a little personal, I grew up in a distant family where crying and comforting was just not done. I am kind of the poster child for "taboos become fetishes". As a result, I have a hard time letting go. I don't remember the last time I really sobbed.

I've worked at this scene and I've gotten to the point where certain thoughts can get me going. Maybe not as quickly as I'd like, but they do. And as truffle mentioned, the heat of the moment may get to me and help things along. I'll keep you guys posted!

Hi everyone! I'm... well, I'm Super-Secret. ;) Tbh I've lurked here a while but felt too afraid to post. But here I am.

My situation is a bit unique because I am an actress. (No, you have not heard of me! I'm very non-famous, haha.). I recently got the script for something I'm in, and my character is supposed to cry. A lot. At one point she is described as "violently sobbing".

I've never had a part that called for this before. I'm excited but a little worried because I myself don't really cry. As a kid I associated it with embarrassment, so I trained myself not to. Now I can't do it, even if I want/need to. I'm annoyed with myself because actors are supposed to be very in tune with their emotions, and I'm obviously not.

Can I pull it off? Will it be weird? Will I snot myself in front of everyone? Only time will tell!

I saw Matt Bomer in American Horror Story: Freak Show. (I'm obsessed with AHS and talk about it a lot, haha.) He had a very small part and didn't cry (tbh he doesn't really do it for me anyway). Isn't Finn Wittrock in The Normal Heart as well? He's in Freak Show and while he's not my usual type, he's rather hot! His cry scenes are very pretty, especially since he's privileged/psycho, two things that make teary scenes sweeter for me.

I'm not sure I want to see The Normal Heart, though. I avoid very sad things because I have a mental block and can't really cry, so instead I just get awfully depressed by them. I get stomach pains and stuff for days after. It's not fun.