For every actor who reverts back to their usual self the second they hear the word "cut,"
there's another who stays in character for the entire duration of a film's production.
Of course, living in character around the clock can lead to some pretty unusual situations
— as proven by these hilarious things actors did while in character.
Wesley Snipes left Post-It notes as Blade
Blade: Trinity director David S. Goyer and star Wesley Snipes had an infamous on-set
battle over Snipes' refusal to take direction as a leather-wearing vampire hunting ninja.
The whole thing culminated in an argument that turned physical when Snipes attempted
to throttle Goyer with his bare hands.
From that point on, Snipes refused to speak to Goyer for the rest of the shoot.
According to co-star Patton Oswalt, Snipes communicated solely with the director via
Post-It notes.
As an added bonus, they were allegedly all written in character, each signed "From Blade."
Leonard Nimoy groks Spock
Because of his high intelligence, the Star Trek character Spock was extraordinarily popular
with career academics and scientists, many of whom saw the character as a peer.
As a result, Spock actor Leonard Nimoy was often invited to sit in on lectures — and
even look over theses and research proposals by fans who assumed he had a similar knowledge
of the fields of science.
To spare the feelings of people who couldn't tell the difference between an actor and a
pointy-eared alien from the future, Nimoy would affect Spock's mannerisms and tell people,
"Well, it certainly looks like you're headed in the right direction" — regardless of
whether he actually understood anything they'd said.
"Fascinating."
Robert Downey Jr.: Method Man
In Tropic Thunder, Robert Downey Jr.'s Kirk Lazarus is supposedly one of the world's most
gifted Method actors — and so committed to his craft that he undergoes surgery to
change the pigmentation of his skin in order to appear black while portraying his character
Lincoln Osiris.
Fittingly, Downey stayed in character as Osiris throughout the DVD commentary for the film
— meaning he talked about the movie as a fictional character being played by another
fictional character.
To sum it up, those who listen to the track will hear Downey pretending to be an Australian
guy...pretending to be a black guy...talking about a film… within a film.
"Whoa!"
What Danny don't do
Everyone who's seen Machete knows one thing for sure:
"Machete don't text."
What you probably didn't know is that this line came about because star Danny Trejo also
doesn't text.
Instead, he tried to call director Robert Rodriguez multiple times to discuss some ideas
about Machete's character.
Rodriguez finally called back and asked why on Earth Trejo didn't just text him.
Trejo's response was to get in character and growl the since-immortalized line.
Rodriguez laughed so hard he ended up putting it in the film.
Liam Neeson has a particular set of skills
Bryan Mills, Liam Neeson's character from the Taken franchise, can end a human life
with nothing more than a pinpoint-accurate slap to the throat.
In other words, he's a pretty scary guy.
"But what I do are a very particular set of skills.
Skills I have acquired over a very long career.
Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you."
So imagine how terrified an unnamed ex-boyfriend of Maggie Grace, who plays Mills' daughter
throughout the series, must have been when Neeson, in character as Mills, called him
up to threaten to punch his arms off.
As a joke, of course.
Ha ha?
Adam Driver does not need a hug
According to pretty much everyone involved with the production of Star Wars: The Force
Awakens, Adam Driver spent almost all of his time on the set in character as the sullen
Kylo Ren.
He was so emo, his co-stars felt compelled to try to cheer him up.
Mark Hamill, for instance, offered to take Driver to lunch and repeatedly asked the young
actor if he'd like to hang out.
Not wanting to break character, Driver turned him down.
John Boyega, on the other hand, took a more direct approach, randomly hugging Driver without
warning in full costume throughout production.
According to Boyega, Driver never once so much as smirked; upon being hugged, he'd stand
awkwardly until Boyega was done before walking away.
Game of Leers
Everyone has their favorite Game of Thrones characters, but two characters in particular
have sparked fans' imaginations thanks to their hilariously one-sided sexual tension:
bearded wildling Tormund Giantsbane, played by Kristofer Hivju, and the long-legged sentinel
of iron-plated justice Brienne of Tarth, played by Gwendoline Christie.
"I want to make babies with her.
Think of them.
Great, big monsters.
They'd conquer the world."
Christie said that even she was taken aback at the "magnitude of intense sexual intention"
Hivju brought to the role, something he carried over between takes.
He reportedly attempted to woo her by sensually eating a sandwich while maintaining unflinching
eye contact in full costume between takes.
Which, to be fair, sounds exactly like something Tormund would do.
"Really kinda making love to that sandwich as he eyeballs me."
"Which is really strong, eyes like lasers."
Mrs. Doubtfire visited an adult shop
Mrs. Doubtfire is fondly remembered as one of Robin Williams' most famous roles.
But before the film was announced, he decided to see just how well the costume disguised
his extremely famous face — by visiting an adult shop in San Francisco.
Williams walked into the store in full Mrs. Doubtfire gear and started browsing the various
items on display, asking an increasingly bemused cashier the most uncomfortable questions he
could think of in Doubtfire's wonderful old lady voice.
"And finally the guy realized it was me and said, 'Get out of here, Robin, you ---hole!"
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