Being in character when you cosplay

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  • Here's what happens when acting in character goes wrong. Physical stunts like this are a bad idea at crowded cons- fortunately for this guy everyone saw him coming and got out of the way, but what if somebody had been distracted, or was unable to move in time?
    He really should have dropped the act as soon as security spoke to him, too.
    (I agree that the guard was unprofessional AF too, really. nobody came off looking good here)

    [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCjlWjowmzk[/url]

    Being in character is never an excuse to endanger others, be a jerk, mock menace or threaten others, and when you have to interact with authority figures, the act should drop right away.

  • I only ever do light roleplay; posing, character quotes, references to the IP, etc. I'll go for the general air of a character at times but I don't push it too much. I tried doing an accent once for Scout's Mom and it didn't actually feel too bad, but I've never tried it again. Of course none of the characters I've done since have had such outrageous accents...

    I'm not against others roleplaying, but I agree it should be something others are consenting to. Don't roleplay an obnoxious character by being obnoxious at someone; at most be obnoxious by yourself, but don't direct it at people unless they make it clear they want in. This is kinda tricky for characters that are supposed to be scary since a lot of the "scare" can come from surprising people, but at least know how to read a room and try and figure out if people are going to enjoy being scared or will call the cops on you instead.

    And of course, reality trumps roleplay. If you're roleplaying Ezio and someone tells you to stop climbing the statues before you break something/hurt yourself, that trumps anything else you might've been doing. The WSCC actually had to put signs up in some of their outdoor areas stating anyone caught climbing on the art/etc. would be subject to immediate ejection from whatever event was going on, it was such an issue.

  • [QUOTE=Scunosi;5066121]I only ever do light roleplay; posing, character quotes, references to the IP, etc. I'll go for the general air of a character at times but I don't push it too much. I tried doing an accent once for Scout's Mom and it didn't actually feel too bad, but I've never tried it again. Of course none of the characters I've done since have had such outrageous accents...

    I'm not against others roleplaying, but I agree it should be something others are consenting to. Don't roleplay an obnoxious character by being obnoxious at someone; at most be obnoxious by yourself, but don't direct it at people unless they make it clear they want in. This is kinda tricky for characters that are supposed to be scary since a lot of the "scare" can come from surprising people, but at least know how to read a room and try and figure out if people are going to enjoy being scared or will call the cops on you instead.

    And of course, reality trumps roleplay. If you're roleplaying Ezio and someone tells you to stop climbing the statues before you break something/hurt yourself, that trumps anything else you might've been doing. The WSCC actually had to put signs up in some of their outdoor areas stating anyone caught climbing on the art/etc. would be subject to immediate ejection from whatever event was going on, it was such an issue.[/QUOTE]

    All of this is really good advice. Especially reading people. If you know someone's a fan of something, you can kinda feel out if they want to play at responding in character, but you can also easily tell if someone is annoyed - and when in doubt, just ask. If they tell you please stop, don't follow them around and try to improve on your act or whatever. It can get a little overbearing when people do this for too long.

  • I'm not good at improv so I don't act in-character. When posing for photos, yeah I'll pose in a way the character would but that's pretty much it. I have acting experience but I learned, I'm the type of actor who needs a script.

  • I'm new to cosplay and for the first year I only did one character, Indiana Jones' dad.

    Everybody expects me to be able to do the voice, the accent. But I can't. Or maybe I can, but I'm cautious because I don't think I'm good at doing accents.

    Have any of you run into that? Done a character that has an accent different from your own, and everybody you meet at a Con expects you to do the accent? It gets a bit annoying, to tell the truth, being asked every five minutes to "do the accent!"

    It was a relief to do a different character finally, one who has the same accent I do! Nobody asks me to "do the accent" when I'm doing this other character, and I'm glad.

    I'm a cosplayer, not an actor.

  • [QUOTE=Dr Tweed;5066605]Have any of you run into that? Done a character that has an accent different from your own, and everybody you meet at a Con expects you to do the accent? It gets a bit annoying, to tell the truth, being asked every five minutes to "do the accent!"[/QUOTE]

    Man, I feel you. Other people, especially non-cosplayers, are kind of the bane of cosplayers' lives. For me it wasn't an accent but a catch phrase, I used to cosplay from Yu-Gi-Oh and everyone wants "it's time to d-d-duel!" You're doing great so far, though, I loved your photos in the other thread and you're off to a great start.

    When people get in your face about this, do your best to be affable. Laugh it off and tell them honestly that you can't, smile and make them part of your routine. Like, "oh, man, I really can't. I've tried and it's not my thing. Thanks for being such a cool fan, though." You know, for as long as you can, anyway. I was never that patient, I was always a mean asshole when people wanted me to repeat catchphrases. Do better than me.

  • [QUOTE=CapsuleCorp;5066608]Man, I feel you. Other people, especially non-cosplayers, are kind of the bane of cosplayers' lives. For me it wasn't an accent but a catch phrase, I used to cosplay from Yu-Gi-Oh and everyone wants "it's time to d-d-duel!" You're doing great so far, though, I loved your photos in the other thread and you're off to a great start.
    [/QUOTE]

    Saaaame, but Overwatch. It's ALWAYS non cosplayers that have to run stupid jokes/memes into the ground by saying it to me 5000 a convention *sigh*

    Like everyone else, I don't roleplay. I've had people come up to me and ask me questions like I'm the character- it's really uncomfortable and I hate it =/ especially when they continue despite me obviously not contributing bleh

  • This is why when I cosplay a character with an accent that I try to PRACTICE the accent. That way I'm prepared in case I have to be in character and don't want to ruin the magic(Merida from Brave is a good example of this, don't wanna disappoint kids who expect it, ya know?)

  • [QUOTE=Angelx624;5066611]This is why when I cosplay a character with an accent that I try to PRACTICE the accent. That way I'm prepared in case I have to be in character and don't want to ruin the magic... [/QUOTE]

    The funny thing is, I have practiced it, but not got it comfortable enough to do it on demand at a Con. It's very difficult for me. Sean Connery's accent is strange anyway, sort of Scottish and sort of not, plus his speech impediment or whatever it is.

    So I do as suggested above: I'm affable, and politely explain that I can't do it.

    I'm an American doing a Scottish character. I wonder how many cosplayers out there find themselves on the flip side, Europeans or others cosplaying American characters, who are equally uncomfortable with accents.

  • [QUOTE=Dr Tweed;5066605]I'm new to cosplay and for the first year I only did one character, Indiana Jones' dad.

    Everybody expects me to be able to do the voice, the accent. But I can't. Or maybe I can, but I'm cautious because I don't think I'm good at doing accents.

    Have any of you run into that? Done a character that has an accent different from your own, and everybody you meet at a Con expects you to do the accent? It gets a bit annoying, to tell the truth, being asked every five minutes to "do the accent!"

    It was a relief to do a different character finally, one who has the same accent I do! Nobody asks me to "do the accent" when I'm doing this other character, and I'm glad.

    I'm a cosplayer, not an actor.[/QUOTE]

    I cosplay Chekov (AOS/Kelvin timeline; Russian heritage, I grew up speaking pretty much all English though) and I did have one guy harass me about "not being in character" at nearly two in the morning at a convention a couple of years ago. I tried to politely explain to him that it had been a long day, that I was waiting on friends and was not really doing any more photoshoots or any more character acting for the night because I was tired. He got angry with me, tried to insist he was "only trying to help" and "make my cosplay better." I got annoyed and then progressively more angry as he continued on, so I cursed him out in Russian and walked away.

    Pretty much what everyone else has said though...if someone expreses that they want something more in character and you are comfortable doing it and not causing any problems or damage to anyone or anything around you, there is no issue.

    Personally, I tend to get nervous or too tired to try and act sometimes but if someone is polite about asking I will generally try and do my best for them.

  • [QUOTE=loz64;5066054]I can't do it. One of my cosplays is Ganondorf who is a serious and evil character, but I'm always naturally giggling and smiling so I fail as a warlord! Even in photos I can't quite pull off the sinister look.

    I've got a cosplay coming up of Princess Yoko from Bravely Second who uses the royal "we" in conversation, so I'll probably have some fun with that.[/QUOTE]

    My friend that I cosplay with is similar, she wants to do intimidating characters but just has this natural tendency towards smiling too much and being goofy. I got resting bitch face, so I can do angry/intimidating well, but can't seem to smile properly in photos (at least I feel like I'm smiling, but that doesn't seem to transmit to my face).



    I'm too self conscious to role play characters when interacting with others, always worried I will look like a fool (for me, not others who roleplay, I just suck at it). Like others I mostly stick to hitting the right in character pose/look for photos. Another reason I can't do a Disney princess (Aside from my RBF), I wouldn't be able to stay in character for the kiddies (and the kiddies deserve to have their princesses in character).

  • [QUOTE=Respawning;5066661]My friend that I cosplay with is similar, she wants to do intimidating characters but just has this natural tendency towards smiling too much and being goofy.[/QUOTE]

    The hardest thing ever was doing Scary Stern Face for Erza Scarlet. I was exceptionally giddy. Also, I (accidentally!) nearly strangled a Gray cosplayer trying to do a posed "Quit Fighting!" photo with him and a Natsu. >.>

    I don't do full-on roleplay, but I do try to be in character (or a recognisable pose) for photos. If there's a well-known catchphrase I might throw that in.

    If you're gonna stay in character and the character is a jerk, it's probably best to keep it non-personal and be generally grumpy instead of outright rude. (IMO, The best Deadpools are the self-deprecating ones.)