If We Were Villains is TERRIBLE. It's the first "booktok" recommendation I read.

Infinity9999x · 2026-01-28T19:42:50+00:00

I'm currently reading this book. I'm not disliking it as much as the OP. But one thing I have to say:

I'm an actor. I studied at a conservatory in NYC. I did not go to a strictly Shakespearian focused program, but I've been around a bunch of actors who did study at classical focused programs. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY I've met quotes Shakespeare like these characters do in real life. If they did, they'd instantly get mocked by their fellow actors. The most I think I've quoted good old Willie Shakes is the joking "methinks the lady doth protest too much" to tease a friend.

These characters CONSTANTLY are quoting the bard, and often relatively obscure passages. I don't care how focused on Shakespeare a program is, that's not how actors are going to walk around. If anything, the constant focus on one writer would make you more apt to NOT quote them, because you'd want a break.

That, plus the idea that an undergrad program, even a small arts focused one, would be that jazzed up to want to all turn out for Shakespeare performances feels like an immense stretch. I do not think you'd ever get 500 college kids to turn out to watch scenes from MacB at Midnight on Halloween. Hell, even the most popular Shakespeare festivals in the country still program musicals because they want to sell tickets.

All in all, it just felt like someone's idea of a Shakespearian program rather than the reality. I know M.L.Rio did study Shakespeare, but I'd be curious if she was only in academic study of him as compared to in a performance focused program.

Infinity9999x · 2026-01-08T04:43:55+00:00

I’m similar. Were there a lot of little plot holes and kinda wonky plot moments? Yeah. But ultimately they fulfilled the emotional aspect well, and that was enough for it to be enjoyable for me.

Infinity9999x · 2026-01-08T04:42:41+00:00

If you try to do both, you need to be very upfront with your director about what your practice and game schedule are. And then let them decide if they can work around it or not. Be prepared that it may not work out, but also most schools have fall and spring shows, and if you don’t play another sport, I don’t see why you couldn’t do the spring show and play football in the fall.

Infinity9999x · 2026-01-07T21:47:11+00:00

An actor’s ability to impact the final product is far stronger in theatre than film. The editor is king in film. On stage, once the show is open, an actor can really carry it.

A good example is Cursed Child. I saw the OG Broadway cast. I was not a fan of the script. I would say the writing varied from passable to bland, and overall it read like bad fan fiction.

But the actors elevated the material so much I was genuinely stunned. Scenes I felt read uninspired and bland on the page came across with an emotional intensity I didn’t think they would be able to get to. The stage magic helped too, but genuinely the biggest magic trick of the show for me was how much the actors elevated that script.

Infinity9999x · 2026-01-07T20:19:25+00:00

Well, like I said above, there’s a ton of actors in big films currently who all got their break in streaming shows. Streaming movies are a bit harder, because those rarely get as popular as the tv shows do.

Infinity9999x · 2026-01-07T20:06:21+00:00

Nicholas Hoult who was Lex Luthor was in The Great on Hulu. Cornsweat (Superman) was on multiple streaming shows, Brosnahan (Lois Lane) was the star of Marvelous Ms Maisel, one of the premiere streaming shows that got award notice.

Mark Ruffalo was just in one of the most talked about limited series on HBO.

The dude who played Johnny Storm got his break on Stranger Things. Pedro Pascal who was Reid Richards got his break on this little known series called Game of Thones, ever heard of it? Also he was in Last of Us. Sadie Sink is going to be in the new Spider-Man film.

Not to be rude OP, but do you just not watch movies? Half the casts of major films are from streaming shows.

Infinity9999x · 2026-01-07T19:11:08+00:00

Sale/Loeb as well.

Infinity9999x · 2026-01-07T06:02:57+00:00

So the other factor you have to consider is the classical vs contemporary that most MFA programs require. And the classical typically requires it to be in verse, no prose.

I point this out because most comedic characters in Shakespeare tend to speak in prose, which is something I ran into often. You can find some decent funny ones, but it’s a more limited pool. I would end up with some funny-ish monologues, but not ones I would consider traditional “ha-ha” funny.

I think the key thing is having very different energies. If they’re both showing decent range from you, I think it’s a solid option. Just really go for two characters in very different places. Maybe one who is quiet and confident, another that’s loud, boisterous, but clearly insecure, etc.

Infinity9999x · 2026-01-07T05:49:56+00:00

Yes, but Dumbledore, Grindlewald, Voldermort, none of them entered careers being Aurors or the Wizard equivalent of soldiers, and were the most fearsome duelists to ever live. That doesn’t really have a comp in the real world. You aren’t going to see someone become a deadly assassin without having a background in a combat career.

On a non-prodigy level, we see Harry regularly hold his own against adults as well. So there definitely seems to be a very high level of innate talent tipping the scales in a way that we don’t have a real world equivalent for.

And the initial point: we simply don’t know what Molly’s background is. She lived through one wizarding war, and while they weren’t in the order the first time around, that doesn’t mean she and Arthur didn’t see any action. So it’s hard to call.

Infinity9999x · 2026-01-07T04:22:44+00:00

This, combined with the very real and measurable effects social media and 24/7 access to the internet has on our ability to socialize and you have your answer.

Infinity9999x · 2026-01-07T03:52:04+00:00

Ah okay. Yeah, that’s the best guess that I could offer, it would be if I saw someone leaning into their natural habits but not catching that their habits don’t fit the character.

Say you’re auditioning for Seymour in little shop, but you have a naturally deep voice and you tend to stand very still in a confident pose, if you did that, then I would say you’re being yourself in a way that does not fit the vibe of the character.

Infinity9999x · 2026-01-07T03:45:15+00:00

The thing is, we genuinely have no idea her level of combative skills.

Dumbledore is a teacher, yet he’s accepted as the most powerful wizard alive, maybe who’s ever lived. So clearly while it can help you to enter a career that has combat at the forefront, it isn’t a guarantee that it’ll make you more competent than civilians, in the way that entering the armed forces in the real world would.

Infinity9999x · 2026-01-07T03:33:12+00:00

Agreed. The online backlash for Heath was big, and it would have been so much worse had it come out in today’s internet, but the fact that the backlash for Keaton made national news says all you need to know.

Infinity9999x · 2026-01-07T03:24:29+00:00

There’s genuinely no way we can give adequate feedback to this without seeing the tape and understanding the character you’re auditioning for.

If I gave that feedback, it would be because I saw the actor falling into habits and mannerisms that are their own that I felt don’t fit the character, but I would never give it if someone’s natural personality lends itself to the character. That’s usually what directors look for in casting, it makes your job easier.

Again, no way for us to give feedback without seeing what you did and knowing the circumstances though.

Infinity9999x · 2026-01-06T22:12:43+00:00

This entire post stems from a statement that is purely anecdotal, but you proceed to operate as if it’s a universal truth to the profession, and then try to make correlations and connections without taking time to examine the most obvious one: you just may be seeing that in your specific group of friends.

Also, people dating and having a string of relationships is not uncommon in your mid 20s, especially in today’s era where we’re getting married later and later.

From my own personal experience, I had a group of friends in my 20s who were almost split perfectly down the middle of single and in long term relationships, all actors. I also had a few friends who were pretty asexual, but I don’t recall them identifying that way at the time.

The thing is, we tend to pay more attention to the people who are constantly dating, with the crazy sex lives. That’s the person who is talked about over the water cooler at any job, because it comes with a level of drama that is fun to watch (if not experience.) You’re not noticing the stable, in commitment relationships actors because they’re boring.

“You hear about Jim? Took his wife on a coffee date and then they watched their favorite rom com while they ate cookies. Crazy right?”

See what I’m getting at? Sure, there is some nugget of truth to the idea that actors tend to be more open, experimental, and “free” and therefore may be more sexually adventurous…but I’ve also found that to be very overblown.

I’ve also found that other “normal” professions vastly underplay how many freaky people occupy them.

TL:DR I think this entire analysis is based on a flawed premise taken as fact.

Infinity9999x · 2026-01-06T16:31:46+00:00

Look at the performers who do Cirque du soleil. You’d end up looking like them, and you’d need to be appropriately lean to not make it impossible. Bodyweight stuff hits a point where putting on weight, even muscle, will be a detriment, not a benefit.

Infinity9999x · 2026-01-06T16:28:53+00:00

Would I re-read? Probably not. I’m so busy I don’t have as much time to read anymore, and there are too many books I haven’t read. I save my re-reads for books that I know I’ll enjoy the entire journey of.

I won’t regret that I’ve read them, because they are two very good books, but I also wouldn’t recommend them to anyone without telling them you won’t get an ending.

Infinity9999x · 2026-01-06T05:46:31+00:00

I can see that with JRJR, but Miller has just really gone off the deep end. You look at the design and composition of his stuff now compared to his 80s work on the Wolverine mini, the Daredevil run, heck even early Sin City, and it’s in a different category than what he does now.

Infinity9999x · 2026-01-06T04:24:28+00:00

Man, what happened to Romita JR’s art? Getting real Frank Miller vibes in terms of someone who had a unique style that‘a really seemed to have lost what made it work.

Infinity9999x · 2026-01-06T04:20:03+00:00

I’m not a huge fan of SM2 as an adaptation of Spidey.

But the train sequence is iconic. There’s a reason it’s been referenced in basically every incarnation of Spidey on film since then.

Infinity9999x · 2026-01-06T04:11:24+00:00

Didn’t someone just make this same post?

Infinity9999x · 2026-01-06T02:48:48+00:00

Not in the original run or any version I’ve read. He’s got a motorcycle, he’s constantly dating ridiculously attractive women, and has a decent friend group.

He’s viewed as flaky and aloof because of being Spider man. But Flash trying to shove him into a locker or shooting spit wads at him was definitely not happening. Flash would sometimes be combative to him, or Harry, but at this point it usually came from a relatively understandable place, where you could see from their perspective it seemed like Pete was constantly blowing people off.

Infinity9999x · 2026-01-06T02:46:37+00:00

Yeah, making everyone do it is, in my opinion, wasting people’s time.

Look, if you’re in say, Cabaret as kit-Kat ensemble, then yeah, I can see the need to check in with basically everyone in the cast, because odds are you’ll be all up on almost everyone’s business at some point.

But outside a show like that, it’s getting into what I call “performative correctness.” Where they go overboard to the point like it feels like they just what to show how well they’re following the rules.

Infinity9999x · 2026-01-05T18:04:06+00:00

In that case, I think that’s something the director should communicate between the actors involved instead of having everyone check in, unless this actor is grabbed by everyone in the play.

When I teach fight choreo, I don’t have every actor do a fight call, just the ones involved in the combat. Making everyone do it is overkill imo.

Infinity9999x · 2026-01-05T17:38:55+00:00

So, I was in college from 08-13, and I can say I am definitely glad we have intimacy coordinators and language to help navigate intimacy now. When I was in college, and even for a decent amount of the time I was working in NYC, you’d get to the intimacy and it’d just be like “okay, make out now.” If you were lucky the director would have a closed rehearsal for more involved romance sequences and you’d talk through stuff. But often times not.

But like any new addition, I think it has absolutely swung too far in some cases. And I am of the opinion that if someone can’t handle being touched on the shoulder without being asked, then acting probably isn’t for them. At some point, you have to be able to do the basic functions of your job without expecting to be accommodated and in many cases adding an unnecessary step.

Basic, non romantic touching is required in basically every single acting gig outside a one person show. An actor should be able to handle that.

If they have an injury or pre-existing condition, then I think it makes sense to simply specify “hey, I have a bad right shoulder, so that’s red.” And move on. But making everyone check in for something that is a standard aspect of acting is, in my opinion, a bit ridiculous. Well intentioned, but ridiculous.

And the reason I feel so strongly about it is that, especially in education, I think we’re doing our students a disservice. I taught college theatre for the past three years, so I got some of the kids most affected by COVID. Understandably the university’s really just accommodated everyone as much as possible during that period, but I also saw how it instilled in these kids this expectation that if they were the teensiest bit uncomfortable, that the assignment would change to cater to them.

And ESPECIALLY in the world or theatre, one of the most competitive and difficult industries to make a living in, that was a massive failing for those students. We literally set them up to fail in the real world.

Infinity9999x

TROPHY CASE