10 Simple Things Actors Can’t Make Look Convincing

[@181andbeyond]

Ending a phone call needs to be on this list. It always infuriates me that characters on TV and in movies just kinda hang up at the moment of revelation.

[@simonmeadows7961]

The thing about phones that gets me is the assumption that if the line goes silent or dead then the person has been murdered. In real life, I assume a dodgy connection, hang up and try again - which nobody on camera ever does!

[@Mohegan13]

TBF I know people who do this in real life.

[@madnhairy]

I'm remembering an episode of Fairly Oddparents where four kids are on a call. Three of them just hang up and the last kid (I forget his name) sits for a couple second, then says "Don't people say goodbye anymore?"

[@ShadowLynxXIII]

How about when they answer the phone & it's still on the answer/decline screen 😂

[@fastfiddler1625]

At this point, I'm convinced it's a conspiracy just to annoy us who notice.

[@samuelboundy7184]

I feel like the "breaking the rib cage" part is LITERALLY the reason why actors don't go all out on the realism! 😂

[@cl759]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣👍🏻

[@missylou725]

This.

[@Kicia84]

@@missylou725 For Breaking Bad the team had created a mold/cast that went over Krysten Ritter's chest so that Aaron Paul wouldn't break her ribs when Jesse tried to perform CPR on Jane.

[@MantraHerbInchSin]

@@Kicia84 Yeah those people didn't mess around

[@Uncle_Smidge]

*Agrees in Hospital Staff* THANK YOU.

[@draygoon69]

I have to argue one thing on the #1 spot. Moving your body franticly is absolutely part of how you play a game. Myself and practically everyone I know who are major gamers will often move around while gaming. You just get into it. All the way back to the original NES. Even if it did nothing we would turn the controller while playing racing games. etc.

[@sneakernickel]

Its really the insane button mashing especially in fighting games. If you're playing a game with combos and special moves, you're not frantically pressing buttons. You're carefully pressing a specific combination of buttons, even if you're doing it fast. Also there are brief breaks in between pressing buttons like when your character is getting hit with one of those combos, you just kinda stop for a minute until it's over. You don't continue mashing buttons when there is literally nothing your character can do. P.S. the Contra code is the key to unlocking all the answers in the universe

[@theiggy1474]

42

[@MultiNotAnti]

Literally just commented about the same thing! I’ve been gaming since the SNES era and you better believe my Super Mario Kart gaming involved all the flailing in the world! Especially stupid no walls Rainbow Road 😂👍

[@JaggedStoneOfficial]

I haven't seen a movie get it right yet. Some people do move alot, some don't while playing games. But not gonna lie, nobody moves or mashes buttons like people in movies. It always looks weird. The best way to tell is to listen to the clacks or to watch the hands. I encourage you to in yoir own time, record your hands or jist the audio of them while playing games. Or hell, even just go to a smash tournament and spectate the competitors. The way people ACTUALLY play, whether they be static or moving gamers, is 100% different than whats in the movies.

[@ryanworkman3032]

Performing proper CPR on an individual who doesn’t need it can actually be quite dangerous.

[@TT-pr9bx]

Actually not really. Your criteria to perform CPR are: they aren't breathing and they don't have a pulse. Sometimes pulse is too weak or just hard to find. The teaching now is #1 get a call into 911 (or whatever emergency call) and start compressions. Calling for help is the most critical thing since they NEED to be taken to a hospital, but after step 1 - just jump into compressions.

[@ryanworkman3032]

@@TT-pr9bx what I meant was, doing cpr on someone unnecessarily can be dangerous

[@talaniel]

@@ryanworkman3032Yeah, regarding CPR, I would not be that harsh on the actors.

[@altosanon]

As he says, proper CPR can break the persons ribs - I think that may be going a bit too far for most actors!

[@JC_923]

How is that even an argument? They can make fighting or car crashes look realistic, but not CPR? You think those things aren't dangerous?

[@NoNotThatPaul]

One thong that really bothers me is film and TV is when someone prepares and serves (usually) breakfast and the recipient immediately gets up and leaves without eating anything.

[@dearthditch]

Yep. Consistently. I somehow always feel bad for the character who “cooked it”

[@D-Fens_1632]

On the reverse, while watching Death Proof the other day I noticed Zoe Bell chews the same imaginary morsel for a few minutes in the diner scene.

[@davidanderson_surrey_bc]

I also find that thongs bother me -- especially when they get caught in my crack.

[@owie4070]

The driving thing; I always find it funny when the actor is on a straight road, but starts rocking the steering wheel left and right 😂

[@nixeleth]

That's the one that gets me. Like, minor adjustments to avoid potholes or whatever, I get it. But in reality they should be swerving into the wrong lane or careening into a ditch.

[@dicksonfranssen]

I do that just to drive my wife nuts. Reminds me of driving any old car with 500,000 miles on the factory ball joints and steering in the snow.

[@ivanvillanueva9092]

Or when they take their eyes off the road to look at the person they’re talking to for a long duration

[@iamanowl26]

or that gears make you go faster out of nowhere

[@tahoemike5828]

I learned to drive in a '72 International Travelall, with a ton of miles on it. If you let the wheel float about in your hands the car went straight. If you gripped the wheel and held it tight, the car would float around in the lane.

[@markalexander3659]

(nurse here) Excellent point about chest compressions! You need to do it MUCH harder than you think. Like, if you're not legitimately worried you might break their ribs, you aren't doing it hard enough. Also, don't actually worry about fracturing/breaking any ribs! If you're doing chest compressions the persons heart has stopped and you are trying to essentially bring them back to life. Broken ribs are the least of their concern.

[@micah4029]

Yes! When I was taking classes to get my EMT-B certification, the class was taught by a firefighter and he made the same exact point. "If you have to perform CPR, that means the person will otherwise die. I think they'd prefer to have some fractured ribs and possibly survive."

[@epolk1968]

(Also a nurse) If you are doing CPR, they are already technically dead so cracking ribs is the least of their worries. The CPR either won't work, or they will be alive and likely sedated with sore ribs in the ICU.

[@markalexander3659]

@@epolk1968 Exactly! I've also personally broken ribs while almost dying (not actually dying, though) as I broke 6 ribs while having a particularly violent seizure that went on for almost 6 minutes. I was very lucky as I was already in the emergency room (having had a milder grand mal seizure a couple hours previous) so there were already medical professionals in the room, but they had to put me into a phenobarbital coma to stop it. Broken ribs are annoying (because you can't really move or even take a deep breath without it hurting) and painful, but when I came around I was too happy to be alive to care about some pain (which they gave me pain meds for anyway).

[@simonmeadows7961]

Honourable mention for the extra from Quantum of Solace who showed the world just how hard it was to convincingly portray the act of using a broom to sweep the ground.

[@RictusHolloweye]

To be fair, he was probably told to stop actually sweeping the ground because the noise of it would have interfered with the scene.

[@TravisRogers-f2h]

Little known fact - 80% of all dust exists ABOVE the ground. That extra was actually doing an excellent job.

[@TonyA552]

Similar to talking in a nightclub is talking on an airplane. In the movies people can hold quiet conversations with each other at 30,000 feet but in real life the pervasive sound of the outside air rushing around the aircraft at 600 mph requires that you bring the volume up a notch or two so that everyone around can hear you too.

[@Wyledgirl30]

Real CPR is frightening for most non-medical people to watch. one of my biggest pet peeves is when cardiac defibrillators being portrayed incorrectly; you cannot shock flatline back to normal sinus rhythm and I've never seen anyone do, like, 10 seconds of CPR and say "well, we gave it our best shot." Also, i have worked a million codes and there was only one time that the patient jumped up after a few minutes of CPR like nothing happened; he was still immediately transferred to ICU. I nicknamed him "Harry Potter" because he was the boy who lived. As a nurse, I have broken people’s ribs, especially if it’s a tiny, older adult. if i have to pick between potentially saving a life or protecting some bones, i known where my priorities are. In CPR, if you’re performing it alone, it’s more important to keep the compressions going rather than stopping for the breaths. Chest compressions mimic the pumping of the heart and every time you pause, you have to prime the pump again. Push hard and fast, but allow the chest a chance to recoil. There are several songs that can help keep up the quick rhythm: staying alive, another one bites the dust, quit playing games with my heart, Darth Vadar’s theme, and baby shark.

[@princessstomper8068]

I call BS on the gaming one - everybody knows that if you frantically kick your legs, your character will magically run quicker, just like how you have to hold your breath during stealth missions.

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

Gaming is the one that makes the least amount of sense to get wrong. Is it that expensive or complicated to have some sort of game that they're actually playing? It's not like they can't use special effects to make it look like they're doing well in the game if you need to actually show the game.

[@deaconfrost6229]

You can throw in hot-wiring any car they feel like. It's never just about random wires to cross.

[@nixeleth]

They probably don't show it realistically so they can't be blamed when a bunch of cars start getting stolen rofl

[@tahoemike5828]

Connect the hot wire to the one that makes the lights and radio come on. Then touch the wire that makes the starter crank to the other two.

[@helencharlienellist2281]

Kudos for name checking David Strathairn's Whistler as an awesome hacker in Sneakers. He turns 75 tomorrow and is still damn fine. Also, Chief Hopper actually tells Joyce how to do CPR properly in Stranger Things season one, 30 compressions, and all. It's refreshing because normally, they do about 5 compressions before a breath.

[@johnjohnson8575]

The panic wake is very real and very unsettling.

[@flitsertheo]

I mostly get that on Monday mornings.

[@ukekrazy1242]

I am legally blind and I find myself paying more attention to Blind characters in TV & movies. Especially to the work with the white cane. (or stick handling as I call it) It doesn't take much to get it right, but they hardly ever do. 👩🏻‍🦯 Great video! Keep smiling! 🙂

[@rome8180]

You've clearly never seen me play a video game if you don't think mashing the buttons at random and rocking your whole body back and forth is realistic.

[@Trafalgaarr]

They now say if you haven't been properly trained in CPR, you should only do chest compressions to the beat of stayin' alive.

[@simonmeadows7961]

I was taught it was Nelly the Elephant.

[@johnjohnson8575]

@@simonmeadows7961 I was taught both but the only version of Nelly the Elephant I know is by the Toy Dolls and I think that might be too fast

[@diabeticsrule1763]

There are a bunch of songs you can do CPR to! I think a Taylor Swift song was recently added to. It just needs to be around 100 beats per minute. Also around that is All Star by Smash Mouth and Baby Shark. So take your pick!

[@kevinchong5424]

Well, another song with a good beat is 'Another One Bites the Dust'... so let's keep it at 'Staying Alive'

[@sneakernickel]

The thing I don't like about typing in movies, is apparently the person can put a password in at no less than 3000 words per minute including the numbers and special characters. They type a 20 digit password in less than a half of a second.

[@muxz]

Food. Kurt Russell should've been nominated for the Oscar and won it for his nacho eating performance in Death Proof.

[@Forgefaerie]

as someone who has been woken up more then once by a phone call where I had to hold an actual conversation and most certainly did? it is NOT unrealistic to wake up quickly. does everyone wake up in the same way? of course not, but going from sleep to awake almost immediately IS a thing that not only some people can do, but HAVE to do. (I've also done the whole sweaty pop up like a jack in a box thing after a particularly bad nightmare)

[@SmallSpoonBrigade]

I think it depends what stage you're in. If you're only lightly sleeping immediately waking up and being functional isn't unrealistic, if you're much more soundly asleep, you'll likely be more groggy. And some people effectively only partially sleep at times. That's where you get parasomnias like sleepwalking and sleeptalking.

[@robertderidder]

I miss using a key on a door. If you see actors fumbling the key in the lock, often turning both ways, so the door can't be unlocked, you wonder if they even have done it in real life.

[@Scrobbles]

The main thing movies/shows forget about CPR, is tilting the head back so air doesn’t go into the stomach instead of the lungs. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a case of CPR on screen where they tilt the head back 🤔

[@nixeleth]

The TV version of Teen Wolf. It was similar to the Buffy episode, in that the person giving CPR likely had how to do it drilled into him by his best friend's (who had asthma) mother, who was a nurse. They really are outlier scenarios, though.

[@kevinchong5424]

No, tilting the head is for opening the airway. It removes the tongue from blocking the throat. To prevent air in the stomach, you have to be mindful not to blow into the other person like they're a balloon, just exhaling normally is enough

[@jaqjynx]

As a nurse watching a show or film with CPR drives me nuts. Also when someone is getting an injection. It winds me right up.

[@pettespizzaparlor3245]

Needle stab directly to the neck. Makes me flinch every time. I guess real injections aren't "cinematic " enough

[@dicksonfranssen]

Hardest ever, acting drunk. Only time it's seemed real was because it was real. Martin Sheen in Apocalypse Now dancing and cutting himself in the hotel room was the real deal. Francis Ford Coppola let the cameras roll even after Sheen cut himself and the result was authentic. Second hardest, a great laugh as in every episode of MASH with Alan Alda's fake laugh.

[@_GeneralMechanics_]

When it comes to eating on film, how about the sound design that makes food sound like something it isn't. "Law Abiding Citizen" had some pretty loud and crunchy "steamed" asparagus.

[@Masterplan15]

The playing of video games in movies and tv drive me nuts!

[@anthonywaggett9317]

Michael Mann's Blackhat has to be the greatest hacking movie, getting the Security Guard to print a copy of your presentation from a thumb drive to get access to the system may not be visually exciting but is an example of how it's done (or getting the password from the post-it!).

[@fuzzyface4515]

11:30 As someone with PTSD, I frequently wake up screaming, covered and sweat and bolting up-right. Sometimes I'll find I've ran out of bed and hiding in a smaller and better lit room such as the bathroom before I'm even fully conscious. Obviously I'm an outlier. :P

[@dicksonfranssen]

It's not just you. There's a great Jackson Browne lyric in The Pretender, "Where the veteran dreams of the fight · Fast asleep at the traffic light" Until you've been there don't bother.

[@miabuck5172]

Same. Thank you.

[@grundelgrump]

Some CPR/AED classes are told it's not super necessary to do the breaths and pumping the oxygen already in the blood to the brain is the main priority.

[@Kbumb001]

Also you need a hard surface underneath, so Buffy did it very wrong.

[@GrumpyBearRawr]

To further add to the driving one, my anxiety always goes through the roof when the camera angle is from the side. They have a dialogue scene and the driver almost always looks directly at the person in the passenger seat for an uncomfortably long time. I'm always waiting for a t-bone to happen. Normal people don't talk in cars like that.

[@Aaron-from-BroTrio]

Another thing about CPR is that now they don't even recommend the mouth-to-mouth part. Just compressions actually help more because you don't stop to blow in their mouth. (At least in the last CPR training I did a few years ago)

[@nixeleth]

I wouldn't judge the "inaccuracies" of gaming based on movement/button-mashing because a *lot* of people play like that. However, playing without a gaming cartridge installed, a remote that isn't wireless being "played" without a cord, controllers without the lights on, etc.

[@newageBoundhippie]

or 2 players holding controllers but the game they're shown playing is a single-player RPG ( looking at you Charlie's Angels... )

[@ColonelSebastianDoyle]

CPR breaths aren't required as long as you're doing the compressions correctly, oxygenated blood is getting pumped round the body. the reality is you are just buying time till help arrives.

[@jfess1911]

I have attended numerous CPR classes over the last 50 years and the compressions-to-breath ratio seemed to change every time!

[@kevinchong5424]

@@jfess1911The most basic is '30 compressions & 2 breaths' combination. But medical experts will have other guidelines that depend on different factors

[@jfess1911]

@kevinchong5424 I first got Red Cross CPR training about 50 years ago, and in that time, I was told 2-in-10(with partner), 2-in-20, 2-in-30, and possibly 2-in-50, if you are by yourself. In the late 1970's through the 1990's, we were taught to do compressions to the beat of the Bee Gees song "Stayin' Alive", which I found entertaining. It is somewhat sad that none of the instructors mentioned that, even with correctly done CPR, the patient has a less than 20% rate of survival. This caused a lot of guilt among those who actually performed the procedure on someone who was not revived. Many assumed that they had not done CPR correctly.

[@kevinchong5424]

@@jfess1911 I'm actually taking a course to be an RC teacher, and I'll be sure to mention that in my CPR-classes

[@jfess1911]

@@kevinchong5424 Thanks. It would probably be good to use diplomatic language along the lines of "Even if everything is done perfectly many patients will not pull thru,... but they would have NO chance of survival if CPR were not attempted." For years, many of us were under the impression that CPR was nearly always successful if done correctly, which is simply not the case.

[@user-et9de2hs5l]

It's not just drinking coffee in a tv show or movie. it's any beverage. If you look closely a the Wargames clip just a couple minutes later, they are both "drinking" from empty cans of Tab. (Then again, did you ever taste the stuff?! I think the actors were better off!) Great movie, though!

[@nathansefchick3864]

For # 6, the typing entry, the episode of NCIS where two actors are typing on the same keyboard should have made it in there. Plus, them getting "hacked" has more popup windows than me visiting a porn site. Plus, plus, they stop being "hacked" by unplugging the power cord. Pure gold.

[@tomarnold7284]

I always lol seeing people in movies went straight to CPR on any unconscious person, without checking breathing and heart rate. Another thing often see in recent years are amatures performing emergency airway puncture to choking victims, like it was the first choice of choking rescue procedure 😂

[@theblite32]

As someone who's had CPR performed on them, i can confirm the breaking, my sternum will pop every now and then.

[@PastaMaster115]

The "cutting away after the actor takes a bite" thing is something I won't be able to unlearn. It's one of those thing that makes sense but you just never think about. And now I'm going to see it in every movie I see.

[@willhouston588]

Under Siege 2: "A gigabyte of ram should do the trick.". This one just gets funnier the older the movie gets.

[@diabeticsrule1763]

Im SO glad you included CPR on this list. Its become a big pet peeve of mine, which sucks since I watch a lot of crime shows where (bad) CPR is pretty common. I get that they can't break an actors ribs but get a dummy or use some other movie magic. I also think its important to show real CPR whenever possible so everyday people know what it actually looks like. It could save someone's life (of course, if you don't know CPR hopefully you have already called emergency services and they can walk you through it but it helps to know what it should look actually look like). Also, I highly encourage everyone to get CPR certified. You never know when it might save a life and it might just be the life of someone you know.

[@talaniel]

Well, instead of learning CPR from a tv, it is better to take a course and try it on a dummy.

[@diabeticsrule1763]

@@talaniel of course but if someone has to do CPR without having taken a course (like being walked through how to do it while on the phone with emergency services), they have an idea of what it should look like.

[@johnrussell-bk7lv]

To be fair that video game shot from 40 year old virgin is one of my favorite things ever, especially since I'm pretty sure both Seth Rogan and Paul Rudd probably play video games and they definitely smoke pot. If you've ever smoked pot and played video games for more than two minutes you're pretty much hooked for life. I rarely do either of those things anymore, but whenever I do one I immediately crave the other.

[@LonewolfOfSD]

Well that was all I needed to rewatch Sneakers again.

[@takieya]

If you ever do another one of these: Using a puffer. There have been a few times we’ve seen it done right, but usually when someone uses a puffer for asthma, it’s not done properly.

[@wade_says]

I agree with these. The ones I always noticed were playing games and drinking coffee. 😊

[@dennisanderson3895]

#3 For "Young Man With a Horn" (fictionized bio of Bix Beiderbecke), Kirk Douglas did learn how to play ONE song on the trumpet. In post, the piece allegedly being done in the scene was dubbed in. BUT the studio could honestly promote that Douglas actually plays the trumpet himself throughout the film. A HaHa and a ThumbsUp

[@SEBookGirlie]

I used to play the Viola and I can tell you that nearly anytime anyone plays a Violin in a movie or tv show I want to throw things at the screen. You have to move your fingers AND the bow to make sound.

[@Ufc12355]

Fighting is usually terrible and they never get tired.

[@JonathanMorley]

I think the most convincing "waking up" scene was the kid who played young William Wallace in Braveheart. When he wakes he moves and stretches like he's stiff from lying in the same position for a while and also keeps he eyes squinted until they've adjusted to the light.

[@usmc1379]

The Buffy scene i thought was gonna be called out because of the victim lying on a couch instead of a hard surface as I always thought was required for CPR to be fully effective...

[@stefanpp1155]

Phone calls in general. Example: someone picks up a phone, pretends to listen to something the person at the other end of the line says, hangs up after five seconds. Then tells the other people around him : "X just called. He said (...) and (...) and that (...) also (...) blah blah." The caller could have never conveyed that information in such a short time!

[@eaglesight333]

My take on CPR in shows and movies, is that it is done a certain way to actually not injure the other actor. Even done partially, could cause bruising (imagine The Rock applying even partial pressure to your chest). As others have said, there could be way with movie magic. Also they have to be careful, when applying the breathing technique, cause otherwise you are forcing air into a person who is not having issues with breathing. Looks weird in tv/movies, but it is to prevent injury. Next. Not just talking in Nightclubs, but anywhere where there is loud noises: Machinery, Helicopters, Skydiving, or really anywhere the outside noise would actually affect things.

[@theoriginalThud]

As someone who takes CPR every two years for my job, you are a bit off base/outdated on CPR. Although you are correct about chest compressions in reality would need to be much more forceful, administering two breaths is no longer recommended. The main goal of CPR is to buy a couple extra minutes until ES arrives by keeping the blood circulating and flowing to the brain, aka “stirring the pot”. In real life, your arms would be locked at your elbows and the force would be coming from your upper body, not your hands/elbows. Compressions are also done at a quick rate (recommend the beat of “Stay’n Alive” by The Bee Gees). One should not worry about breaking the ribs as they are actually flexible due to them containing some cartilage. Besides, it is better for the person to have broken ribs than brain damage due to lack of oxygen provided by circulating blood. Sadly, however, the statistics for CPR actually saving lives is actually very minimal. In most cases, it is used by family members at home. Always call 911 first.

[@billstenberg]

I think the gaming scene in Knocked Up was spot on for two stoners playing mortal kombat on an old n64. First of all, that's a button masher's favorite game. Secondly, that controller was terribly shaped so some played holding it in different positions, depending on what they needed to do. Holding it sideways sometimes made it easier to hit certain buttons rapidly. I use this on button tap actions still to this day. Thirdly, even if they were great gamers, they're playing an old console that they irl probably played as when they were younger and this might've been a nod to how they played as kids to make it a funnier and a more relatable scene to the demographic, which to me worked.

[@andrewgroves3601]

I think people need to watch The Abyss for performing CPR. 😂

[@michaelniemeyer2706]

The Groundhog Day clip isn't a good one for "eating." Bill Murray famously ate everything every take.

[@ashura5221]

Worth mentioning, there are actually a few mistakes in the Buffy CPR. 1) And most important, never do CPR on a soft surface like a mattress or couch, it becomes pointless because all the force your exerting on the chest to simulate lung movement is going straight through to the cushions. 2) Her arms are bent, you should always have your arms perfectly straight and elbows locked so that your entire body weight goes into performing chest compressions. 3) Opinions on whether to perform mouth to mouth seem to vary, last I hear it wasn't recommended to a) avoid catching/transmitting disease and b) because red blood cells attract CO2 molecules more than O2 molecules so by breathing into their lungs you're actually decreasing the amount of oxygen in their blood because we exhale CO2. And anyway the chest compressions also have the effect of making the chest rise and fall, simulating lung movement. But stick to what you've been taught though, I'm no expert, this is just what I was told last time I took part in a first aid course which was a few years ago. But should you perform mouth to mouth, you have to tilt the person's head back to open their airways otherwise the air you're blowing into their mouth isn't going into their lungs. Buffy didn't tilt her mother's head back.

[@UKProgRock]

Former 999 EMA here, rescue breaths are not needed as you are stating during the initial stages of CPR. You can perform just chest compressions until the crew arrive, or even better find a local defibrillator (you can ask the 999 call handler if there is one close by too)

[@ianmeechan2040]

As a photographer it does my head in when you see actors taking photos as in most cases they're not even pointing the cameras in the right direction. If you were to view the images they would be terrible.

[@SheilaRough]

If you're not breaking ribs during CPR, you're not doing it right. Last time I renewed my CPR certification, I ended up with bruises & blisters on my hands and a strained wrist. And that was doing CPR on a dummy. Also you can't do chest compressions on someone with a heartbeat, you could do some serious damage to their ribs and heart, not something an actor signs up for when filming a role

[@DirtyRoomKnives]

I did it without breaking ribs and she was 74. Had a bloke checking the pulse to make sure blood was pulsing. Casualty made a full recovery. CPR has changed.

[@rome8180]

As a musician, seeing someone fake playing an instrument poorly is one of my biggest pet peeves. What frustrates me is how avoidable it is. If the music is simple, the actor should take the time to learn the basic hand positions. Sure, they won't nail the nuances. But at least I won't be hearing a G major chord when a bunch of nonsense is being played. If the music is more complex, camera trickery should be used to make it more believable. I think the most frustrating is when the musicians don't have acting parts. HIRE ACTUAL MUSICIANS who can play the music. Or heck, if it is an acting part, maybe hire someone who can both act and play music? Imagine how much worse Inside Llewyn Davis would have been if they'd hired someone who wasn't an excellent guitarist and singer like Oscar Isaac. Obviously, that's not always possible. But that's where preparation and cinematography come in.

[@Donna-nu8ul]

I remember seeing an interview with James Stewart about playing Glenn Miller. He started taking trombone lessons, and he was so bad that his instructor refused to keep teaching him. So Stewart the instructor to show him the proper slide positions and how to properly hold his mouth, so it would at least look like he was playing. It's been decades since I've seen the movie, but I remember thinking he'd done a good job of faking it.

[@pettespizzaparlor3245]

It's worse when you know the actor can play, but the editing and sound mixing screws it up so badly that they have the musicians hand in a high note and the sound is clearly in the lower range. Stringed instruments are the worst at this.

[@shanerasmussen5225]

Christian Kane, the actor that played the evil lawyer Lindsey on Angel, also Eliott Spencer in Leverage and Leverage Redemption. He is also a singer and songwriter, the song her performs in the Leverage episode The Studio Job is his song. Defenit exception.

[@highping1786]

I would add flying helicopters. The actor is always "flying" in the copilot seat on the left and the other guy in the pilot seat on the right is obviously really flying.

[@MrManAmong]

How is “getting knocked out” not on this list??? When people get knocked out in movies it looks like someone picked them up by their face and threw them 10 feet back. When you get knocked out irl you fall straight down. Or you fall straight back. Your feet stay roughly where you were when the lights went out. This movie trope/stunt has driven me crazy for a long time lol

[@pirateadam3686]

Can someone pin this comment, or just vote it to the top please? I want it to be seen as you have some really bad information in the video... *CPR* 1. You do this on peope that are not breathing and have no pulse. The medical term for this is Dead. You may break a rib and bruise muscles, but you won't do anything that is worse than being dead. So don't worry about hurting people. 2. Just do chest compressions. Unless you have training and equipment/people to do it properly, don't bother with the breaths. Maybe if help hasn't arrived after 15 minutes or so then you can start to add them, but generally don't worry. Studies have shown repeatedly shown that just doing chest compressions is the best option. 3. Time. Start compression and DO NOT STOP until help arrives or you physically can't continue. If there are two of you, have one person sit out while you compress and then swap. Don't have them breathing (see above). Chest compressions are intense and you will get so, so tired after a few minutes. 4. Preparation. Buffy was wrong - bouncing a person up and down won't help. Get them onto a hard surface if you can, or roll them and slide something hard under them. A folded table, parcel shelf from a car, display standee laid flat, whatever. You just need something to spread the force out enough so they don't just bounce. And regarding spinal injuries,remember that they are currenty dead. You may cause more trauma but you won't cause more dead. 5. Technique. Kneel over the patient and put your hands one on top of the other, do not link your fingers, and put the palm of your hand over the bottom of their breast bone and slightly to your right. (Go look up "Heart location" in an image search for a better idea). Extend your arms and slightly bend the elbows, enough to take some impact but don't bend them to absorb the shock. Using your upper body begin to press down about two inches into the patient's chest. Go too far rather than not far enough. Try for about 100 compressions per minute - traditionally it's Staying Alive, but the Imperial March works as well. Try not to bouce your back up and down as this will hurt after a while. 6. If doing this on infants then use two fingers on their chest and aim for about half an inch depression at about 150 - 200 compressions per minute. Might help to use the same song but put an "and" in there. So "Dum Dum Dum" becomes "Dum-and-Dum-and-Dum-and-" 7. Acceptance. As I said in point 1, you are working on a corpse. The survival rate for CPR is about 1 in5. 20%. And that is if you get there early. If you do everything right and it doesn't save them then don't feel like it was useless. You didn't improve their odds - you gave them some back. You helped.

[@travisschlegel8616]

Buffy's CPR scene was pretty good, except for one thing. She didn't move her mom onto the floor. All of the motion of her chest compressions was being transferred into the cushions.

[@TherealWashtali]

I starred in an episode of a TV show as a teen, and there was a scene where I was required to use a playstation console (it was a PS2 controller specifically), and on the first take I used it as I normally would. On subsequent takes I was given specific direction on how to use the controller on screen to make it "look more like I was playing". It ended up looking less realistic but more active and energetic in the end but looked fake true. The one that pisses me off a lot is smoking or drinking liquor. The walking Dead episode where Daryl is getting Beth drunk for the first time is such bull because this malnourished first time drinker weighing like 100 pounds is just chugging back moonshine like its no big deal. Like I dont care how much you drink, straight moonshine is gonna sting at least a little.

[@prisonmike4971]

In CPR they stopped training the mouth breathing. They teach compressions since it has the most efficacy of reviving the heart. Unless that's just how my work does the training. But the intstructor went out of their way to explain why they eliminated it. It also has a shockingly low success rate, but it's better than nothing- just make sure you call out a second person to rotate with you.

[@JohnDrummondPhoto]

I would add: playing a sport. Almost any sport. Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson did play good basketball in White Men Can't Jump. But Glenn Ford playing golf in Follow The Sun? Robert Redford as a baseball player in The Natural? Please.

[@whitethunder9064]

This was a unique and fun list! I enjoyed it!

[@JPIbanez84]

I am surprised dying wasn't on this list. A couple of legendary examples: Ava Green in Casino Royale and Marion Cotillard in The Dark Knight Rises.

[@integral]

Sam playing piano in "Casablanca" is by far the worst example of faking it. The actor didn't even pretend to hit individual keys or chords and just banged his hands up and down on the keys over and over again. That the movie's director and producer didn't make the tiniest bit of effort in disguising this is laughable.,

[@trippiesthippie4207]

From someone who is cpr certified: do not give rescue breaths. You’re not helping by doing it. You’re just harming the person’s lungs. Focus on compressions and compressions only.

[@AuthorCertifiedGoof]

In addition to the drinking coffee example, I’d add carrying a coffee cup so it actually looks full. So often in movies and tv shows, actors fail to convincingly portray that there might actually be liquid inside a coffee cup. I notice this ALL the time!

[@josephbarnes24]

Its "PEAK" acting Performance on the movie Grandma's boy towards the climax on that movie. When they be stoned "playing" xbox with a monkey button mashing on the xbox controller lol. I know its a comedy but i thought id share that moment based on how funny it is to me lol

[@zanethomas6865]

To paraphrase Truman Capote, "That's not hacking. That's typing."

[@blackcreators]

I used to crack up watching them do CPR on M*A*S*H*, they never got it close to right even though they were supposed to be doctors LOL

[@CelesteBertin]

CPR no longer requires breathing into the person's mouth. Pump at around the speed of the song "Staying Alive", make sure it goes 2 inches deep (yes ribs will be cracked) but keeping blood flowing is the priority. There's enough oxigen in the bloodstream to not require breathing, just keep the blood moving.

[@amber_amber62]

Driving annoys me so much. When the driver is having a conversation they always spend way too much time looking straight at the passenger. I always feel like there is going to be a car accident any second when that happens.

[@Mohegan13]

It's not actually necessary to give rescue breaths. In fact in most cases it is suggested to do hands only CPR unless you are trained and confident in your abilities to perform a rescue breath. What many people don't realise is that there is a lot of oxygen in the lungs, the oxygen content we use is only about 5% of that we breathe in, so for early CPR it generally isn't required and can wait for medical professionals.

[@scottdean2199]

"Hands only" CPR is a thing. The effectiveness of giving breaths is debatable.

[@clinton6087]

I remember an episode of Roseanne when they were playing Super Nintendo. The music playing in the background was from the Super Mario world title screen. Not only is that not a playable part of Super Mario world but the game they were describing was definitely not Super Mario world.

[@rmdodsonbills]

The thing that used to drive me crazy about older hacking movies was how the simple monitor would actually project their contents onto the face of the computer user. If the room is dark, the basic glow of the monitor will light up the person's face, but you won't see lines of text scrolling up their face. At most you'll see a flicker in the light. But that's a directorial choice, not an actor thing.

[@PhatBudzJ]

i have genuinely "jolted" up when waking from a nightmare though, so never saw any issues there, just always took it to indicate the severity of the reaction to the dream

[@CptnGs]

Smoking. It’s painfully obvious when an actor is not used to smoking the way they don’t actually inhale, they just draw the smoke into their mouth and then blow it out immediately

[@robertcardosa8739]

Having learned CPR for different requirements over the years for the Navy, I can tell you the breaths are not as important and the current standard is to not do the breaths if you do not know how to. The issue I have is the pace they use for the CPR. Anyone wanting to know more look up Hands-Only CPR posted by the American Heart Association.

[@johnoreilly3417]

There’s fuckin nothing in the cups , does my head in , fake sippin, jus have a fuckin drink 😂

[@nolotrippen2970]

I have never EVER sat bolt upright in bed after a nightmare, I've asked around. No one else ever has either. Then there's the passionate kiss upon waking up. Bleech.

[@miabuck5172]

I have. I have panic disorder and have panic attacks in my sleep. I've sat bolt upright and screaming, drenched in sweat.

[@MultiNotAnti]

WhatCulture would sure hate to see me play a video game. It’s a requirement to do things like lean the way your car turns in racing games or even just get closer to the screen at super intense parts. Do they have an effect on the game? No. Do they help me? Hell yeah! 🤷‍♀️😂😂

[@gabrielvn31]

Love the callback to Kung Fury 💪🏼💪🏼 one of my favorite short films

[@OmarBhoo]

Playing an instrument. As a musician it always stands out so much how wrong it is. Where your hand is would not produce that pitch.

[@MantraHerbInchSin]

Can we get a list of movies and series that did things right?

[@Alexander_Stern1]

Generally, when filming a scene where characters are playing video games, they’re just handed a controller with no idea of what’s going to be on screen in the final edit. The actors who played the Skids on “Letterkenny” said that they did play a real game while shooting early in the series, but found it too distracting. They’d get caught up in the game and forget their next line! Or they’d screw up in the game and their reaction would spoil the take.

[@markthomas3425]

Please add handling a coffin or stretcher with a cadaver on. Anyone who has handled one of these items knows how heavy and awkward they are. But in every film and tv series, they just lift them up like it's nothing

[@marisolmistakesmadefresh]

Waking up from a nightmare can be an event like I have had some wake up a stay up

[@DogMyCats]

People answering the door within 2 seconds of a knock/ring. Also, people getting impatient when someone doesn't immediately answer the door.

[@thomasdean302]

The only problem I have with the buffy CPR scene is that she did it on a couch when you're supposed to pull the victim into the floor or similar hard surface. The cushions absorb most of the chest compressions.

[@disturbedpyro4511]

I’ve only woken up once from a nightmare like they do in the movies. I was having a nightmare that I was running away from something I couldn’t see, I fell into a pit of snakes, one started wrapping itself around my legs and it woke me up, the moment I woke up I felt something actually around my legs, I was still half dreaming so I started to panic. It was just the belt from my robe that managed to wrap around my ankles. I just started laughing and went back to sleep 😂😂

[@munaapfelbaum6576]

The CPR shown in Buffy is also wrong for multiple reasons. You must do it on the ground not on a sofa. The head is not tilted back far enough because Buffy's mother is leaning against something. The person must lay straight on the back on the ground for CPR to work.

[@Mattteus]

They just slipped in two shots from Miami Connection!

[@KIRAMH1023]

No mention of Blue Bloods for the eating one? Every episode has a family dinner & it’s well known that every week each actor puts in their meal order since they have to actually sit & eat for a whole scene.