Is using a lot of eyebrow movement acceptable when acting?

Question:Well, they keep telling me not to use my eyebrows so much but for this particular character I believe it makes the character have, well, character. But in General whats your opinion on this.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Well, they keep telling me not to use my eyebrows so much but for this particular character I believe it makes the character have, well, character. But in General whats your opinion on this.

It all depends. Stock answers and cliches aren't helpful. Your eyes should convey all the emotions with any facial expressions (including the eyebrows) being only the condiment to the dish. Remember that the CHARACTER should be the one determining these things, NOT YOU. My acting method (which has served me for 35 years now) involves me burying everything that is "I" and literally assuming the identity of the character, right down to the little idiosyncracies of thought and movement. If you're onstage, a little eyebrow movement will barely be noticed. If you're on film, you're five times bigger than life and the slightest twitch could sink the scene. Don't ask yourself whether you think it "helps" the character; if you have to ask if it does, then you're not IN character enough. Like the others here have said, don't dwell on the details-- let the character shape herself without "melodrama" unless that's the nature of the production.

i don't think much of eyebrow.... think eyes. let eyes do your talking, expression. seen rear window? james stewart was cited over and over on how he let everyone know what he was thinking without saying a word or even getting out of a wheelchair. that is acting.

It sounds like the movement of your eyebrows is not flowing from the normal reaction of the scene and it is probably looking campy or a parody of acting--Many beginning actors make this mistake, the eyebrows should move only as a natural physiological reaction that comes from the thought of the moment, not a raise of the eyebrow because you think it adds to the scene. There is a time and place for that style of acting it's called "Melodrama" and it is a lot of fun to act that way I love it myself, but if you are performing that style in a non-melodrama production, it only serve to make you look bad. If you want to add character to your character, rather than moving the eyebrows a lot try making your character more natural-- read the play-- find out all you can about your character, make your character live, you have already made a choice about your character by trying the eyebrow thing, you obviously want your character to have an expressive face-- a good choice the trick is to make the expressions come as a natural reaction from the moment. Be in the moment. Don't act. React.

If you are on the stage, an arched eyebrow is not going to be seen at the back of the house. If you are actihng for film, a camera can zoom in so that everyone sees it; in that case, I suppose you could overdo it.

Overactive eybreows are distractng. Don't think to much about what your face looks like when you deliver it. Be organic and let it come out naturally once you've embraced your character.