Religious Actor Objections To Some Acting

by Ashlley Elias


Original image from Silent Film Archive
In acting I haven't come across a lot of religious types. When I do encounter an actor with strong religious convictions, they often find fault with every scene they are to do based on their beliefs. It seems these actors aren't able to disconnect from their personal objective to be good and switch over to that of their characters.

I think this mentality is wrong-headed. Acting does not have to fight with your religion.

Nudity

It's not against any religion to be naked, no matter what you think. How are we to take showers or baths if we can't ever be naked. Being naked a few times on camera or on stage is not the same thing as being naked as you go about your daily business. Don't mix up your normal life with a few seconds as a actor, naked. So since there is no rule against being naked, what is the problem? I'd say it's just that religious people don't want to be associated with anything that can be seen as immoral, even if that thing isn't immoral per se.

Violence

In most religious texts there are reproofs against hurting or killing other people. In movies and plays nobody is ever killed, it's just the impression that somebody died. You aren't being a bad person that kills people if you play a villain, you are PLAYING a seemingly bad person that seems to kill people. These are characters and not people, they are part of a more important whole which is the story. Don't mistake your part with the whole.

Swearing

In their life religious people try not to swear. Actors in a production aren't swearing, a character is swearing. It's in a fictional context, it's not being pointed at anybody in real life or in regards to any real deity. The "God" in a movie needn't be the "God" in real life that you worship, any more than the president in "West Wing" was the real US president. Take a step back and realize that drama is a make believe world that we use to communicate to the real world but isn't necessarily of it.

Sex

If you're ok with being nude then there shouldn't be a problem with sex scenes other than embarrassment. First, nobody every actually has sex; it's all fake. These are not porno scenes, there is no penetration of any kind. No religious texts regulate who you can and can't kiss and since the sex is fake there should be no problem. Again it's a problem of association. Religious people don't want to be associated with stuff that seems immoral even if there is no immoral act taking place.

  • Avoid Films That Glorify, Preach, Persuade

The important thing to ask yourself when faced with a role in a production that has subject matter that is counter with your religious beliefs is how that subject is handled. If a movie has sex in it between unmarried people and you don't like that there is no consequences from it then that is a legitimate concern. You may only be willing to do sex scenes that are between two married adults, that sounds reasonable. Being in a production that makes something you don't believe in seem cool or isn't even-handed in its portrayal is a perfectly reasonable reason to not get involved.

There are lots of gray areas with this. Times where you will have to trust what the director says. Hoping what he or she intends to do is what actually happens. A director might tell you it's an "anti-teen sex" comedy but turn it around on you at some future date leaving you in an uncomfortable spot. I suggest taking each project on its own merit and each production team at their word until they prove otherwise. You don't want to limit yourself too strictly, but you want to keep your integrity. Strive for the balance with a leaning toward trusting people. You can only try your best and believe people when they tell you things.

Comments

Craig Mason :
I have been in a situation like this once, where a fellow performer refused to curse. He was never all that clear with us about his reasoning, be it religious or otherwise. The whole thing grew tiresome and his selfishness derailed many a rehearsal. It's not like the script is a present that you open without knowing the contents. You've presumably read it before auditioning; certainly before accepting the job. If there's something in the script you can't/won't do, turn down the job. There are plenty of people behind you who are more than willing to carry out the playwright's intentions.
Dec 8 2008 - 4:24pm
Ashlley Elias (post author) :
You're right Craig, it boils down to selfishness. I think the actors that take part they find objectionable do so with the hope of getting the director or writer to bend to their will later on. The nature of acting is so catch-as-catch-can that they probably feel it's better to take what they can and then fix afterwards. Long-term actors need to take projects that resonate with themselves and build relationships with people whose work you respect. Yeah, I agree: if you find something objectionable in the script, walk away.
Dec 9 2008 - 12:40pm
Mark :
When I was studying drama at college I worked with a Christian actor many years ago who refused to curse as the character. And he simply wouldn't budge. The director and cast were confused and then irritated with his intransigent attitude. The actor dug his heels in and could not be pursuaded that it was the character saying it, not him. The drama actually had a broader message about tolerance and anti-violence, but the actor concerned was adamant that saying this particular word was wrong, and would compromise his precious principles. It was a lovely company of actors but not one of them could understand his views. I must say that for many years this experience put me off anything to do with organised religion. So much for his precious principles. No thanks to the eejit who wouldn't say the sweary word 30 years ago, I recently became a member of the Society of Friends. I recently joined a Facebook group called "Fuck War, I'm a Quaker". In the end some things are more obscene.
Feb 7 2009 - 9:03am
Ashlley Elias (post author) :
Good story. It calls into question an actor's desire to actually act when so much energy goes into stopping a scene rather than making it work. There are lots of words you could say that sound like real swear words: "cheese us" for "Jesus" or "fug" for "fuck". It reminds me of the first Lenny Bruce trial for obscenity. In court they read verbatim his whole act and didn't see that as obscene. I'm not pro-censorship, I'm just saying context is a big part of any language or communication. If the government can use the same words as a performer on trial, can't a Christian actor use words he/she wouldn't normally in support of telling a story? I would say so. Add to that the fact that the words we in the USA find indecent are often allowed in Britain, but they can't say "fanny" or "bollocks".
Feb 9 2009 - 2:51pm

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