Actors Swallowing Words: A Rant

Something irritates the hell out of me. What is it with some actors swallowing, gargling and mutilating words? I was watching The Lord of the Rings movies last night, and Ian McKellen swallowed so many words, as did John Rhys-Davies. Whatever happened to actors talking loudly? Barbara Stanwyck, nee little Ruby Stevens from Brooklyn, could be heard across the street from the theatre. What a broad!

Updated On: 12/14/08 at 08:48 AM

Can you give a specific example of McKellen's word-swallowing in LORD OF THE RINGS? I've seen the films several times, and can't think of a single instance of word-swallowing or sloppy diction in it.

QUANTUM OF SOLACE is a far worse offender in this regard, I thought. Way too many foreign-accented actors speaking way too low and husky, but even the sublime Jeffrey Wright was almost unintelligible in a couple of scenes.

I recently saw the current GYPSY and was appalled at the laziness of a lot of the performances. The second act scene between a stripper and a comic was comletely unintelligible, I just couldn't make out a single damn word. Heard it clearly enough, loud and clear, the diction was the problem.

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Actually, I was having similar thoughts recently. I've gone super-nerdy and seen a lot of classical plays over the last year, including an array of Chekhov, twelve from the RSC, and a whole mess of further Shakespeare plays. Last week, I went to see 'War Horse' and 'August: Osage County' at the National, and while both plays were fabulous and I enjoyed them both hugely, I couldn't help but miss the crystal-clear enunciation of classical performance. I may not go a bundle for Patrick Stewart's acting, but I'm learning to appreciate that at least I can understand every word he says.

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nygrl232,
You're one sweet tomato.
Love,
Mr. Clean

So....no Benicio Del Toro Film Festival in your future, yes?

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