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Avery's Facial Expressions & Head Movements

Photon

Photon

Commodore
Commodore
Some, adds to the scene:
Sisko says, Michael (shows top row of pearly whites) Ed-ding-ton........

Some, irritates: Sisko hits is fist and cracks the table when getting the bad news about the x Fleet and he makes that goofy facial expression w/the chin and lower lip- kinda like Kirk..........Kahn.......Kaaaahhhhhhnnnnn. Still, Jim Kirk seemed more convincing than Sisko.

Don't get me wrong, Avery is by far my fav ST actor, but some of his mess was really silly and over the top.
 
Photon said:
Some, adds to the scene:
Sisko says, Michael (shows top row of pearly whites) Ed-ding-ton........

Some, irritates: Sisko hits is fist and cracks the table when getting the bad news about the x Fleet and he makes that goofy facial expression w/the chin and lower lip- kinda like Kirk..........Kahn.......Kaaaahhhhhhnnnnn. Still, Jim Kirk seemed more convincing than Sisko.

Don't get me wrong, Avery is by far my fav ST actor, but some of his mess was really silly and over the top.
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Honestly, I never felt distracted by this. I really enjoyed AB's acting style throughout the series.
 
Brooks was a ham. Just like Shatner. Sometimes I found it endearing ("Our Man Bashir", "In the Pale Moonlight") and sometimes it infuriated me ("Far Beyond the Stars").
 
Funny thing is when I'm perplexed by something or irritated by something, I tend to use some of the same facial expressions and head jerks he does.
 
"You can't TELL me that ball wasn't over the plate! What were you doing, REGENERATING?"

I love watching and listening to Avery Brooks. His commercial for IBM -- "It's the year two thousand! -- but where are the flying cars? I was PROMISED flying cars. But I don't see. any. flying. cars. Why? Why? Why?" -- is hilarious to me.
 
When Avery Brooks as Sisko gets angry, does anyone notice that he seems to ... over-enunciate his words? I don't know how to describe it, but it likes the words are extra-sharp or something. He's flashing a lot of teeth too... it's weird.
 
DS9 Gal AZ said:
When Avery Brooks as Sisko gets angry, does anyone notice that he seems to ... over-enunciate his words? I don't know how to describe it, but it likes the words are extra-sharp or something. He's flashing a lot of teeth too... it's weird.
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Noticed that and he goes all staccato. What-the-F-were-you-thinking-JAKE-when-you-got-NAKED-in-the-bed-with-that-Dabo-girl-WHAT-WERE-YOU-THINKING-SON?
 
Brooks IMO was the second best captain actor (behind Sir Patrick Stewart), and whilst the nervous breakdown scene could seem like overacting, his performance in The Visitor was top notch, as was IMO Homefront (when he thought his dad Joe was a Changeling).

I also find his vocal inflections funny, like the scene where he schools Admiral Leyton. He says "mis-tay-kuun" instead of mistaken, but i enjoyed his performances.
 
DS9 Gal AZ said:
When Avery Brooks as Sisko gets angry, does anyone notice that he seems to ... over-enunciate his words? I don't know how to describe it, but it likes the words are extra-sharp or something. He's flashing a lot of teeth too... it's weird.
Click to expand...

I think that's something of a stage actor thing - when you're angry, your impulse is to shout the words, and in real life and on camera, you can be understood, but put it on a stage, and you've got to worry about the acoustics and such making it difficult for you to be understood by the audience, so you've got to make sure that your words are very distinct.

And of course, you don't just stop following those instincts once you're on camera and you have the magic of looping in dialogue to be clearer.
 
I noticed those quirks but never mind. People have quirks, I do not mind actors infusing quirks in fictional characters.

I'm a lot more bothered by inconsistent writing that can really ruin a character for me.
 
Once more in regards to "FBTS": People having psychotic breaks aren't usually concerned with playing it subtle. Just sayin'...
 
DS9 Gal AZ said:
When Avery Brooks as Sisko gets angry, does anyone notice that he seems to ... over-enunciate his words? I don't know how to describe it, but it likes the words are extra-sharp or something. He's flashing a lot of teeth too... it's weird.
Click to expand...

Yep, but sometimes it gives his words a lot of power.

There's a scene in the 2nd part of "The Marquis" where he's talking about the problem with how easy modern humans have it.

The way he pronounces his words..they seem to give the words (and meaning) a powerful tone... you get what he is saying...I would have forgot what point he was making otherwise..
 
Avery seems to often get accused of over-acting during his nervous breakdown at the end of Far Beyond the Stars; but as someone who has actually witnessed a breakdown of that sort, I have to say that his performance was spot on.
 
Photon said:
Don't get me wrong, Avery is by far my fav ST actor, but some of his mess was really silly and over the top.
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Avery Brooks of all the lead Star Trek actors was way over the top with how he expressed emotion. The casting directors penchant for placing stage actors in lead television roles was at best IMHO a 50/50 proposition. Stewart, Brooks, Mulgrew all accomplished stage actors had to grow into playing their characters on television and not the stage. Even Stewart who of the bunch was the most accomplished at making the transition form the stage to the camera still in my opinion muddled to grow into his character and it took way past the first season to do so.

For Brooks it took many, many seasons to finally stop the overacting
 
LOKAI of CHERON said:
Too Much Fun said:
Brooks was a ham. Just like Shatner.
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Probably why they're my two favourite characters in Trek - although I prefer to describe their acting technique as committed and passionate!
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I agree. It might come down to the topic of stage vs. television. Brooks' movement on stage has got to be a different thing. But like you I find some stage acting to be a good, even necessary, range to have for the material of ST.
I include Stewart also, in fact I think of the Captains he had the best ability to modulate between higher and lower intensities.
 
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