History Main / BadBadActing

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheMansionsOfTheGods'', the Gauls are not very good at faking being hit by an allegedly magic-potion-enhanced Asterix. However, while the Roman Centurion is obviously not fooled, [[SurroundedByIdiots his legionaries are]], and they flee.

* ''WesternAnimation/MonstersInc'': At the end, Sully's performance in ''[[FilmWithinAFilm Put That Thing Back Where It Came From Or So Help Me]]'' at the end of is unquestionably this.

** Locke's performance in the Opera scene of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' has the Impressario comment on how terrible his acting is. Due to technical limitations, it's left as an InformedAbility, since a player can't actually hear him talk. However, Locke refers to the main character of the opera by the name of her actress instead of the name of her character, which is a very amateurish mistake.

** The [[NeverLiveItDown infamous]] laughing scene in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' qualifies since the characters themselves are fake-laughing. Tidus has just learned that [[spoiler:Sin is actually his father Jecht, though he doesn't know how or why yet]], and as such, his laughing comes off as incredibly awkward in-universe. Wakka even says "we were just worried you guys might have gone crazy" after Tidus and Yuna are done fake-laughing.

** The {{Prequel}} ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' has a similar thing happen, in this case [[AntiHero Velvet]] has to pretend to be [[TheGadfly Magilou]]'s apprentice and then [[ItMakesSenseInContext act like a dove]]. Her [[LuminescentBlush reaction]] makes it clear she '''knows''' how bad her acting is.

* The persona of the Website/{{Twitter}} account [[https://twitter.com/tips4actors @tips4actors]] is a deranged pretentious LargeHam with no understanding of reality who treats everything as SeriousBusiness. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aHj6ZaBtU8 This]] video shows him coaching a student through a scene from ''Series/{{Friends}}'', which he thinks was "misinterpreted" as a sitcom and insists on playing like a scene about domestic violence.

* WebVideo/{{Kitboga}} is a scambaiter popular on Website/{{Twitch}} and Website/YouTube. As he points out, this is practically written into the script of the standard "refund" scam. The scammer will claim to be giving the victim a refund, then pretend to have either "accidentally" added an extra digit (usually a 0) onto the end and having transferred way too much money, or claim that it was the victim who did this. Then they go into full-on panic, acting like they can't believe what just happened and claiming that the victim has to give them back the extra money (usually via gift cards) ASAP or they're going to lose their job.

** Film/Ghostbusters1984'': The three founding Ghostbusters do a KitschyLocalCommercial in which they read very stilted lines, and Egon even looking down when he steps forward and back to make sure he steps on his floor mark. This was ''actually'' Creator/HaroldRamis making sure he hit his mark -- director Creator/IvanReitman [[ThrowItIn thought it was so perfect he kept that take]]. This scene was later referenced in ''Film/{{Evolution|2001}}'' (also directed by Reitman), with the main characters doing a really badly acted commercial for Head & Shoulders (with one of them even holding the bottle upside down).

--> '''Ann:''' (in fake British accent (in [[Engrish]] in the original Japanese)) I'm quite charmed to meet you, sir!

** In ''Film/GhostbustersII'', Janine and Louis are roped into acting for a commercial for the company. They fall squarely into this.
** This scene follows the [[CallBack similar]] commercial from the [[Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}} first movie]], with the original three Ghostbusters reading very stilted lines, and Egon even looking down when he steps forward and back to make sure he steps on his floor mark. This was ''actually'' Creator/HaroldRamis making sure he hit his mark -- the director thought it was so perfect he kept that take. This scene was later referenced in ''Film/{{Evolution|2001}}'' (also directed by Ivan Reitman), with the main characters doing a really badly acted commercial for Head & Shoulders (with one of them even holding the bottle upside down).

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{WITCH}},'' the Guardians need to leave to fight the forces of evil just before their slot in a school talent show. They leave behind copies of themselves to take their places, but it turns out that the copies don't retain any memories and therefore are not familiar with the short play they are putting on. It all goes downhill when the Taranee copy begins her narration with "Taranee speaks dramatically..."

* Subverted for effect in ''Anime/NarutoTheMovieNinjaClashInTheLandOfSnow'': the actress the team escorts plays out a scene they see her shooting quite convincingly; this shocks the team because it sharply contrasts with how distant and snide the actress really behaves. She's not, however, able to fake crying.

* The ''[[Theatre/FarndaleAvenue Farndale Avenue Townswomen's Guild]]'' plays are depictions of extremely amateurish productions of standard plays, put on by a local townswomen's guild. They feature tons of bad acting, as well as lots of drama between the actors and the production staff.

* At least one character in each of the ''Theatre/FarndaleAvenue'' plays (which are supposed to be accident-prone amateur productions). In ''The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild Operatic Society's Production of The Mikado'', the actor playing Ko-Ko recites all her lines in a monotone and is prone to ReadingTheStageDirectionsOutLoud.
-->'''Ko-Ko:''' I can't kill you. I can't kill anybody. Weeps.

* The mockumentary ''Film/WaitingForGuffman'' has a cast of talented actors... playing small-town hicks trying to [[HilarityEnsues make it big on Broadway.]]

* In ''Film/TheNakedGun 33 1/3'', Frank Drebin has to replace a host at the Oscars Gala. At first, he doesn't know what to say, so his co-hostess tells him to read off the teleprompter. Which he does, word for word, including [[ReadingTheStageDirectionsOutLoud the stage directions]] and the co-hostess' own lines. Things don't exactly improve when he starts to ad-lib. HilarityEnsues.

** Also in "Doppelgangland", not only does Willow try to pass herself off as the evil vampire Willow, but the vampire Willow tries to pass herself off as good Willow, so Cordelia will let her out of the book cage. "Look at me. I'm all... helpless." HilarityEnsues.

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E2Meglos "Meglos"]]: The Doctor and Romana are caught in a chronic hysteresis (a time loop), which results in them going through the same scene involving repairing K-9 by waggling his tail several times. In order to break themselves out of said loop, they have to ''deliberately'' recreate the scene, which results in Romana acting very woodenly, and the Doctor actually forgetting what he has to say next, even though he's already delivered the line at least three times already. HilarityEnsues.

** The [[MovieMakingMess Dangeresque]] installments are full of terrible acting, ranging from "passable but untrained" (Marzipan, the King of Town), "trying but incompetent" (Strong Bad, Homestar), "not trying at all" (Strong Sad, Bubs), "utterly abysmal" (Coach Z), and "[[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} hasn't realized he's in a movie]]" (Senor Cardgage). Homestar finally breaks this trend in "Dangeresque: Puppet Squad - the Hot Jones Hi-Jack!" as [[FrenchJerk Stingy]] [[CanadaEh Relenque]], going [[HamAndCheese over the top]] as a [[YouMeanXmas Decemberween]]-themed bad guy, though he still [[OohMeAccentsSlipping breaks character twice]].

* ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'': Garnet tends to fall into this whenever she's trying to fake something. While she tends towards [[TheStoic natural stoicisim]], it turns flat as cardboard in some situations. When she throws a fight in "Tiger Millionaire", she literally just stands ramrod straight and tips over backward after being 'knocked out' by Steven. In "Fusion Cuisine", her attempt to pose as Steven's mother consists of answering the phone with, "Yes, this is Mom Universe. The children are playing swords. Sorry, playing with swords. They're bleeding. Oh no, they are dead. Don't call again," and then hanging up.
** In contrast to these two scenes, she unexpectedly swings towards very convincing in "Secret Team" [[spoiler:staging a monster attack to get Pearl and Amethyst to apologize to each other]]. Though that could be simply because she was genuinely angry at the time.

* {{Discussed}} in ''Manga/OshiNoKo''. Aqua gets a walk-on role in a live-action adaptation of a {{Shojo}} romance manga starring FormerChildStar Kana Arima, which is being completely phoned-in by the studio and mostly only exists to advertise the male models that make up the ReverseHarem, who are horribly under-acting everything because the director doesn't care enough to make them do it properly. Aqua upends the paradigm in his role as a StalkerWithACrush in the last episode by [[TookTheBadFilmSeriously playing his role completely straight]] and [[ThrowItIn ad-libbing several lines]], which tricks the LoveInterest into actually emoting and allows Arima to show off her real acting chops for once. This causes the last episode to go from MerchandiseDriven schlock to critical praise.

* Anya from ''Manga/SpyXFamily'' is horrendously bad when having to act things out, though it's slightly mitigated because she ''is'' a young child. When she tries to get Yor to ask Loid to [[BoyfriendBluff be her boyfriend for a coworker's party]], but she hesitated because seeing Anya made her think he was married, her subtleness is loudly start bemoaning the fact that she has no mama and how lonely this makes her. And the only reason this works is because Yor is SuperGullible.

* In the "Deja Vu" storyline in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidGroundZeroes'', Kaz occasionally does wooden, silly, and virtually unrecognizable impressions of various ''Metal Gear Solid'' characters when you call him. Apparently, when they asked Creator/RobinAtkinDownes to imitate the lines, he did them too well and got most of them bang-on, so they had to make him redo them all [[BadImpressionists intentionally badly]] as Kaz himself is not much of an actor. This serves also to contrast to the TrueEnding where the game [[UnexpectedGameplayChange suddenly changes into a quiz]] hosted by Liquid Snake and Ocelot, all [[TheOtherDarrin Other Darrined]] by Downes [[ActingForTwo rapidly flicking between voices]] and all immediately recognizable.

* The Koskela Brothers' TV commercial in ''VideoGame/AlanWakeII'' is done this way.

* ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'': Olberic Eisenberg is the team's Warrior, skilled fighter, and tactitian, but is a horrible actor. In the side quest "Star of the Stage" if Olberic impresses the Impersario with his fighting ability, he is taken onto the stage. There he gives a stilted reading in a monotone voice before ending his scene with, "Was that all right?" The scene ends and the Impersario is giving him an honest critique of his lack of talent.

Contrast ThePowerOfActing. Compare TerribleArtist.

* One of the Francis subplots from ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'' had Otto hiring an acting troupe to stage a live murder-mystery, only the performance was a ClicheStorm whose annoyance and direct interference with the guests caused them to leave en masse. Too soft to fire them, Otto hired an audience to watch and praise them to help boost their confidence. The audience was ''also'' an example of BadBadActing, although they were deadpan in contrast to the LargeHam performance of the troupe, to which the troupe's leader was totally oblivious.