History ObfuscatingStupidity / LiveActionTV

** He also uses this facade quite a bit when interrogating suspects, which makes him seem less capable than he actually is. He gets a MomentOfAwesome in season 6's "Aliyah," when he is questioned by Eli David about the death of one of his agents, a rogue assassin that had killed an American agent, and whom Tony had killed in self-defense. He starts out snarky, but manages to flip the interrogation around in about 30 second and needles David just enough to get him to admit that Rivkin was following ''his'' orders. Note that Eli David is the ''director of Mossad.'' And rather than be upset he was caught out, Director David is ''impressed.''

** He gets a CrowningMomentOfAwesome for this technique in season 6's "Aliyah," when he's interrogated by Eli David over the death of one of his agents, whom Tony killed and hadn't trusted. He starts out snarky, but needles David just enough to get him to admit that Rivkin was following his orders, orders that led to the killing of an American agent. Note that Eli David is the ''director of Mossad.'' And rather than be annoyed, Director David is impressed.

* ''Series/TheUntamed'': Since Mo Xuanyu is thought to be a mad simpleton, Wei Wuxian uses this to make people underestimate him when he's brought back to life in Mo Xuanyu's body.

** William Giles suffered from dementia, but pretended he was further gone that he really was. While on death row [[spoiler: and asked to pick his method of execution, Giles said that he would like to be stoned to death, knowing that he would likely die of old age while his execution was stalled by lawsuits from human rights organizations]].

* In ''Series/TheWalkingDead'', Carol often downplays her toughness and smarts. Early on in Sanctuary, Morgan notices the way she observes her surroundings, having noticed Rick do the same thing, and asks her if she was a cop. She turns it UpToEleven when she first meets Ezekiel, but later on in the same episode they have an earnest conversation, her dropping TheDitz act and him dropping his regal affectation.

* ''Series/{{Arrow}}''. Having been a notorious playboy before he was marooned on an island in the North China Sea for years, Oliver Queen finds it useful when he returns to home and becomes a vigilante. It's not all plain sailing however, as in later seasons he becomes the CEO of Queen Consolidated and then the Mayor of Star City, and his reputation makes it easy for his enemies to portray him as irresponsible and unfit for his position.

** In one episode he has an idea for how to repair the engines while in flight, but doesn't want to actually ''[[GotVolunteered do]]'' it because it would be dangerous. He wanders on to the bridge drunk and waving a bottle (entirely in character) and ramblingly tells an anecdote that also describes his plan. Avon and Tarrant take the plan and go to repair the engines, leaving Vila to reassure the rest that [[spoiler:you can't get drunk on water]].

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E1SmithAndJones "Smith and Jones"]]: The Doctor pretends to be a dim-witted human patient dazzled by the alien presence in the hospital in order to dupe the Plasmavore into [[JustBetweenYouAndMe revealing her entire plan]].

* Like in the earlier films, the '50s ''Series/{{Zorro}}'' television show had the title character disguise his secret identity with stupidity; however, instead of being a [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob rich fop]], his alter ego was a bumbling Zorro sympathiser who supposedly lacked the skills of his idol.

* ''Series/TheAvengers'': John Steed, almost every episode.

** Matt Murdock uses obfuscating ignorance in everyday life. He can effectively "see" just fine, can hear conversations from blocks away, and can tell whenever anybody is lying to him, but he has to act like an average blind man anyway and play along.

* ''Series/BetterCallSaul'': Eduardo "Lalo" Salamanca presents a jovial and laid back image with an almost childlike enthusiasm for everything that can make him appear far more disarming and personable than [[AxCrazy the rest of his family]]. Underneath that lies an extremely competent and dangerous individual with a mind as sharp as they come. Indeed, he is the only member of the Cartel who [[TheChessmaster Gus Fring]] isn't able to run mental circles around and with the cunning to play a relatively even cat-and-mouse game with him.

* ''Series/BetterCallSaul'': Eduardo "Lalo" Salamanca presents a jovial image with an almost childlike enthusiasm for everything that can make him appear far more personable than [[AxCrazy the rest of his family]]. Underneath that lies an extremely competent and dangerous individual with a mind as sharp as they come. Indeed, he is the only member of the Cartel who [[TheChessmaster Gus Fring]] isn't able to run mental circles around and with the cunning to play a relatively even cat-and-mouse game with him.

* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'': During an interrogation with a difficult suspect, Holt and Peralta try a technique they call "Smart Cop, Dumb Cop," where Peralta intentionally makes himself look like out of his depth to catch the perp off-guard later.