I recently went to work disguised as someone else – I’ll explain why later. But here’s what it taught me.
Do we really not recognise each other because we wear a different hat? Or put our hair up? Well yes! This is the plot of many Shakespeare ‘Comedy of Errors’ type plays, and many operas – people swap coats and suddenly no-one recognises them. And it always seems so far-fetched and ridiculous. But it happens!
The reason why I was disguised was: I had to appear in a movie 3 times, as 3 different characters. I was only a background artist, an extra, so I wasn’t a leading character – but I wanted to get paid 3 times, for 3 different crowd scenes. So I had to look like a completely different person in each scene.
In one, I was a nurse with my hair tied back and a uniform; in one I was a pub customer, dressed smart-casual with my hair down; and what of the 3rd day? See pic. I had an old-lady funeral beret on, plus a hat pin! Not a look I have ever worn before, or ever will again, if I can help it (it was very ageing)
A good acquaintance, who I have chatted to many times before, who follows me on social media – we comment on each other’s posts etc, plus we’ve talked on the phone and in person – looked right through me! He approached me (I thought he was going to greet me) and walked right past me. Job done. I look like someone else.
Of course, the really good actors can look like diffrent people just from their demeanour (never mind a hat). Different makeup, different colours and styles of clothes, and some people will be fooled. The Hollywood A-lister Bradley Cooper played The Elephant Man on stage in the West End with no makeup or prosthetics! And he really looked deformed. Bear in mind that most people are thinking their own thoughts, in a world of their own, concerned with their own issues, the demands of the day – and not thinking about what we look like.
My agent, who had been worried that I would be recognised by the director and thrown off the set for trying to get paid 3 times (it doesn’t look good if the same 5 extras are in every scene) gradually noticed that it was me and gave me a subtle nod of realisation and approval. He didn’t think I could look that different. And actually when we came to shoot the scene, I was sitting in an audience behind a great tall guy – so I couldn’t be seen anyway. Ho hum.
My point is:
Try a different look maybe – you may feel different, and other people may react to you differently. Just a thought.
