Overacting (also called hamming, mugging or chewing the scenery^[1]) is exaggerrated acting, positively or negatively.

Uses

Some roles require overly-exaggerated character acting, particularly those in comedy films. For example, the breakthrough roles of Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and The Mask (both 1994) saw him portray the lead characters in a very flamboyant fashion, as the script required. He has since played relatively straight roles.^[2]

Overacting may be used to portray an outlandish character, or to stress the evil characteristics of a villain.^[3] Actor Gary Oldman was almost typecast as an anti-social personality early in his screen career:^[4][5] the necessity to express villainous characters in an overtly physical manner led to the cultivation of a "big" acting style that incorporated projection skills acquired during his stage training.^[4][6] He noted that he has given "over-the-top" performances, and: "If it's coming from a sincere place, then I think the screen can hold the epic, and it can hold the very, very small."^[7]

Reactions

In an article on overacting, Independent critic Leigh Singer wrote: "Unlike theatre's declamatory projecting to the back row, a 'stagey' performance onscreen isn't a compliment... ultimately, it really is a matter of personal taste."^[8] Jeff Labrecque of Entertainment Weekly argued that "there's a thin line between overacting (bad) and acting that you're overacting (bizarrely genius)";^[9] the publication at one time gave year-end awards for "best" and "worst" overacting in film, with the aforementioned Oldman and Pacino winning the former for their performances in Léon: The Professional (1994) and The Devil's Advocate (1997), respectively.^[10][11] Guardian journalist Chris Michael, a proponent of overacting, wrote: "From Hugo Weaving's Agent Smith to Heath Ledger's Joker to the entire oeuvre of William Shatner, mannered or stylised acting is an underrated skill."^[3]