History Main / MeanCharacterNiceActor

** The first time in which Colin outwardly acknowledges this dichotomy is in "Crafty Hearts Re:Grouped." After filming is wrapped up, he takes Nurse aside and breaks character to deliver a genuine apology for bickering with her so much before this episode. It's in response to Nurse's own apology over the matter earlier; he realizes that he too holds some blame over what happened between them, and he's finally ready to hold himself accountable. He's noticeably awkward and deliberate with his words, as though this is the first time that he's ever opened up to someone like this in a long time.

* The character of the titular WebAnimation/DrCrafty is that of a brash supervillain who, despite his mostly harmless antics, tends to be a bit of a dick. By contrast, Colin Crafterson, the man behind the act, is quite a kindhearted person despite his issues. As the series progresses, Crafty reconciles these two sides of himself, to the point where he stops upholding the villainy as much.

** The first time in which Colin outwardly acknowledges this dichotomy is in "Crafty Hearts Re:Grouped." After filming is wrapped up, he takes Nurse aside and breaks character to deliver a genuine apology for his behavior before this episode. It's in response to Nurse's own apology earlier; he realizes that he too holds some blame over what happened between them, and he's finally ready to hold himself accountable. He's noticeably awkward and deliberate with his words, as though this is the first time that he's ever opened up to someone like this in a long time.

** The character of the titular WebAnimation/DrCrafty is that of a brash supervillain who, despite his mostly harmless antics, tends to be a bit of a dick. By contrast, Colin Crafterson, the man behind the act, is quite a kindhearted person despite his issues. As the series progresses, Crafty reconciles these two sides of himself, to the point where he stops upholding the villainy as much.

* WebAnimation/DrCrafty is a brash supervillain who, despite his mostly harmless antics, tends to be a bit of a dick. This is a consequence of him being the only member of the Crafty Crew who is fully committed to the villainous aesthetic. By contrast, Colin Crafterson, the man behind the act, is quite a kindhearted person despite his issues. As the series progresses, Crafty reconciles these two sides of himself, to the point where he stops upholding the villainy as much. "[=LoveCrafty=]" is where this transition starts taking off; there, he candidly elaborates on some personal issues from his past with both Nurse Worse and his audience, not even bothering to maintain the act. From that point forward, Crafty slowly becomes more comfortable expressing himself, allowing him to create an even stronger rapport with his crew in and out of the show.

-> ''"Because he was such a nice, good person, he could play villains wholeheartedly. Whereas people who've got a dark side of their own, can't go for it a hundred percent because of not giving it away. Roger hadn't anything to give away, so he could do a one hundred per cent nasty."''
-->-- '''Damaris Hayman''' on Creator/RogerDelgado, who played the Master in ''Series/DoctorWho''

* The entire ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' franchise may be this, as even Miyamoto himself justifies GoKartingWithBowser as the characters all being AnimatedActors (which may explain the "stage show" aesthetic of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'').
** This is most explicit in ''[[VideoGame/MarioTennis Mario Power Tennis]]'', where Bowser, Wario and Waluigi are shown to be joking around and laughing at their mistakes during the "blooper reel".

* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' sets the PlayerCharacter up as the "actor" in one scenario. The non-Genocide version of Mettaton EX’s boss fight is presented as a TV show, and acting like a CardCarryingVillain is a good way to gain viewers (other ways include being a LargeHam, using on-brand products, and living up to your boasts). Not only can you play the bad guy and keep your PacifistRun going so long as you don't actually harm Mettaton, but gaining enough viewers lets you end the fight with minimal violence (well, except to you, since this way requires you to get hit), so you're actually ''encouraged'' to play this way.
** Mettaton himself plays with this trope, as he acts like a KillerRobot and isn't afraid of playing up to it. While he ''does'' try to kill you, the real reason behind it [[WellIntentionedExtremist is more complicated]]. His various employees and fans (with the noteworthy exception of Burgerpants) talk about how kind and supportive he is toward them.
* {{Idol Singer}}s "Off the Hook" in ''VideoGame/Splatoon2''. On air, Pearl acts rude, tactless, and a bit dim, while Marina snarks viciously at Pearl's expense. The two play themselves up as VitriolicBestBuds with a dash of BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine. Then the player gets to see how they interact off-air in ''Octo Expansion'', and find that these are exaggerations. Pearl is the rougher of the two, but she's a lot more unreservedly sweet and affectionate than the JerkWithAHeartOfGold persona she adapts, and Marina's snark started out as a coping mechanism for her being a refugee in a strange, foreign land.

* ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'': Margaret Hamilton plays The Wicked Witch of the West. Behind the scene, Margaret is the only one who was nice to Judy Garland. While all her other co-stars and actors ruthlessly bullied Judy because they couldn’t accept a “little girl” being the main star.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMN6HM3_iD8 A commercial for the business card company Vistaprint]] invokes this. The ad begins with a typical ScaryBlackMan standing in a rather intimidating pose, looking like a security guard or bouncer, and then it's revealed... he's a ''wedding planner,'' and is about as threatening as milquetoast.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OinrnIwu-uk Another ad for the same company]] shows an old man glaring into the camera, looking like he has a grudge against the world... only to pull back as he slips on a set of headphones, revealing he's a ''DJ'' and not nearly as unpleasant as he looked.

* An episode of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' has our heroes helping an amateur filmmaker by acting in an indie movie. Cilan, who's as nice a NiceGuy as ever appeared on the show, plays the role of the evil pirate who kidnaps the [[PrincessClassic beautiful princess]]. He even makes a speech about how important a convincing villain is for the movie.

* In the french TV series ''Series/ThierryLaFronde'', one of Thierry's outlaw companion is an actor who loves animals, and is one of the gentlest souls in the show. The character he plays on stage when we first meet him? Judas Iscariot.

* The entire ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' franchise may be this, as even Miyamoto himself justifies GoKartingWithBowser as the characters all being AnimatedActors (which may explain the "stage show" aesthetic of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'':
** This is most explicit in Mario Power Tennis, where Bowser, Wario and Waluigi are shown to be joking around and laughing at their mistakes during the "blooper reel".

* {{Idol Singer}}s "Off the Hook" in ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon 2}}''. On air, Pearl acts rude, tactless, and a bit dim, while Marina snarks viciously at Pearl's expense. The two play themselves up as VitriolicBestBuds with a dash of BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine. Then the player gets to see how they interact off-air in ''Octo Expansion'', and find that these are exaggerations. Pearl is the rougher of the two, but she's a lot more unreservedly sweet and affectionate than the JerkWithAHeartOfGold persona she adapts, and Marina's snark started out as a coping mechanism for her being a refugee in a strange, foreign land.

* Combined with AnimatedActors in ''WesternAnimation/HouseOfMouse''. The villains rarely do much of anything villainous when they're "off-duty" in the House of Mouse, and even when they do they PokeThePoodle, like Jafar turning Donald Duck, who's been a LargeHam, into a literal ham.
** Notably, they take over the House in one of the direct-to-video films, but it doesn't really last for long. The film was more of a compilation of shorts, so when the villains did take over the club, they didn't really change it much aside from having to keep kicking out Mickey and the gang.

** The ShowWithinAShow of Darkwing Duck gets an edgy reboot film, portraying the already gruff and arrogant Darkwing as a terror who "fights darkness with ''more darkness,''" (though we don't actually see anything more of him in the trailer than just a smirk). The actor cast in the role turns out to be a huge dork who has modeled his life on the original (in-universe) portrayal and enjoys roleplaying with Launchpad and has a strong heroic streak of his own.

* In the [[WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts Disney Short]], The Goofy Success Story, WesternAnimation/{{Goofy}} tells the audience, unlike his Mr Wheeler persona in ''WesternAnimation/MotorMania'', he doesn't [[DrivesLikeCrazy suffer from road rage]] in [[AnimatedActors his offscreen life]].

* WebAnimation/DrCrafty is a brash supervillain who, despite his mostly harmless antics, tends to be a bit of a dick. This is a consequence of him being the only member of the Crafty Crew who is fully committed to villainous aesthetic. By contrast, Colin Crafterson, the man behind the act, is quite a kindhearted person despite his issues. As the series progresses, Crafty reconciles these two sides of himself, to the point where he stops upholding the villainy as much. "[=LoveCrafty=]" is where this transition starts taking off; there, he candidly elaborates on some personal issues from his past with both Nurse Worse and his audience, not even bothering to maintain the act. From that point forward, Crafty slowly becomes more comfortable expressing himself, allowing him to create an even stronger rapport with his crew in and out of the show.

* WebAnimation/DrCrafty is a brash supervillain who, despite his mostly harmless antics, tends to be a bit of a dick. This is a consequence of him being the only member of the Crafty Crew who is fully committed to his act. By contrast, Colin Crafterson, the man behind this act, is quite a kindhearted person despite his issues. As the series progresses, Crafty reconciles these two sides of himself, to the point where he stops upholding the villainy as much. "[=LoveCrafty=]" is where this transition starts taking off; there, he candidly elaborates on some personal issues from his past with both Nurse Worse and his audience, not even bothering to maintain the act. From that point forward, Crafty slowly becomes more comfortable expressing himself, allowing him to create an even stronger rapport with his crew in and out of the show.

* WebAnimation/DrCrafty is a brash supervillain who, despite his mostly harmless antics, tends to be a bit of a dick. By contrast, Colin Crafterson, the man behind the act, is quite a kindhearted person despite his issues. As the series progresses, Crafty reconciles these two sides of himself, to the point where he stops upholding the villainy as much. "[=LoveCrafty=]" is where this transition starts taking off; there, he candidly elaborates on some personal issues from his past with both Nurse Worse and his audience, not even bothering to maintain the act. From that point forward, Crafty slowly becomes more comfortable expressing himself, allowing him to create an even stronger rapport with his crew in and out of the show.

[[folder:Web Animation]]
%%* Jeffery Sr. from ''WebVideo/McJuggerNuggets.''
* WebAnimation/DrCrafty is a brash supervillain who, despite his mostly harmless antics, tends to be a bit of a dick. By contrast, Colin Crafterson, the man behind the act, is quite a kindhearted person despite his issues. As the series progresses, Crafty reconciles these two sides of himself, to the point where he stops upholding the villainy as much. "[=LoveCrafty=]" is where this transition starts taking off; there, he candidly elaborates on some personal issues from his past with both Nurse Worse and his audience, not even bothering to maintain the act. From that point forward, Crafty slowly becomes more comfortable expressing himself, allowing him to create an even stronger rapport with his crew in and out of the show.
[[/folder]]

* WebAnimation/DrCrafty is a brash supervillain who, despite his mostly harmless antics, tends to be a bit of a dick. By contrast, Colin Crafterson, the man behind the act, is quite a kindhearted person despite his issues. As the series progresses, Crafty reconciles these two sides of himself, to the point where he stops upholding the villainy as much. "[=LoveCrafty=]" is where this transition starts taking off; there, he candidly elaborates on some personal issues from his past with both Nurse and his audience, not even bothering to maintain the act. From that point forward, Crafty slowly becomes more comfortable expressing himself, allowing him to create an even stronger rapport with his crew in and out of the show.

%%[[folder:Web Original]]

%%[[/folder]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' episode "Eugene, Eugene!", Arnold performs as the BigBad of the titular play. This is a kid who has helped Mr. Hyunh reunite with his long-lost daughter after the two were separated during UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar. And, despite Mr. Leichliter's coaching, he's [[BadBadActing still pretty awful at it]], mostly out at protest at the play's excessively morbid new ending.

* In ''Film/OnceUponATimeInHollywood'', [[Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio Rick Dalton]] suffers TypeCasting as the bad guy in other rising stars' film productions, much to his chagrin. But on the set of ''Lancer'', after flubbing many of his villanous character's lines initially, a chance meeting with a pre-teen co-star helps to motivate him to make the most of his next scene... involving him kidnapping and threatening the life of said co-star. His resulting demonic performance--in which he not only graphically threatens the life of his co-star, but also violently throws her to the ground in his villainous monologue (complete with requisite padding for the girl)--earn his aplombs from the director, and even his co-star admits that it's the best acting she's ever seen from another person.

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[[quoteright:312:[[Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/freddykruegerrobertenglund.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:312:Onscreen: [[SerialKiller Murders teenagers]].\\
Offscreen: [[Creator/RobertEnglund Gives signatures to teenagers]].]]

-> ''"Because he was such a nice, good person, he could play villains wholeheartedly. Whereas people who've got a dark side of their own, can't go for it a hundred percent because of not giving it away. Roger hadn't anything to give away, so he could do a one hundred per cent nasty."''
-->-- '''Damaris Hayman''' on Creator/RogerDelgado, who played the Master in ''Series/DoctorWho''

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