Acting Lessons Should Be Goal of World Cup Players

(June 25) -- The U.S. national team's World Cup success has many Americans looking at soccer with fresh eyes. Unfortunately, some fans aren't sure if they're watching a world-class athletic competition or miserably bad community theater.

Though the sport is known for its dramatic goals, it's also a stage for bad acting. Players often fake injuries in hopes a sympathetic ref will feel sorry for them and penalize the other team.

If Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal hadn't acted like he had been hit with a Mack Truck in a scuffle with Swiss midfielder Valon Behrami, the Swiss player might not have been ejected, giving Chile a one-man advantage that led to its 1-0 victory on June 21.

Juan Mabromata, AFP / Getty Images

Soccer players -- including Argentina forward Lionel Messi, pictured in a 2009 World Cup qualifier -- are known for faking injuries in attempts to penalize the other team. But theater experts say soccer stars are bad actors.

And the day before, Brazilian star Kaka was ejected for giving Ivory Coast player Abdul Kader Keita a soft elbow to the chest -- which Keita turned into a sharp blow to the face.

Were Keita and Vidal really hurt? Well, acting teacher Dru Scott isn't convinced based on how they acted.

"The eyes are the windows of the soul," Scott told the San Diego Union-Tribune. "When we're in pain, we don't cover our faces. As soon as they cover their faces with both hands, I know it's nonsense. I might believe it if there was a grimace with their eyes closed, but I would definitely not cover your face."

According to professional actor and teacher Ron Christopher Jones, shenanigans like this are the reason Americans still haven't warmed up to the world's sport.

"Soccer inspires more bad acting than any other sport," Jones said. "The stuff they do would never work in the NFL. It's not respectable for [an American football player] to flail around like he's broken two legs without anyone touching him."

Jones -- who says he doesn't really consider soccer a sport -- says that if the World Cup players are going to keep up the "I'm really hurt" charade, they need to practice basic acting techniques along with penalty kicks.

"Too many times, a guy will fall down, writhe around flippity-floppy on the field like he's in agony only to jump up if the ref doesn't blow the whistle," he said. "That's not good. You really need to sell it so much that the ref can't help but take the yellow or red card out of the little foldy thing.

"First, if you're going to fake it, stay down long enough so that your sports medicine guy has enough time to get on the field and spray Windex on the legs -- that magical elixir that suddenly cures your life-threatening injury."

Another person who thinks that soccer players should make acting lessons one of their career goals is Pablo Solomon, an internationally recognized artist and dance instructor.

Based in Austin, Texas, Solomon has been enjoying watching both the U.S. and Mexican teams do well in the tournament.

To a point, that is.

"The injury acting and ... the penalty acting has varied from melodramatic to the point of being comical to, 'Wow, that's a performance!'"

He says there are simple tips that could help make the fake injuries look less fake, starting with basic observations of people who are really injured.

According to Solomon, appearing injured is all about little things such as facial expressions, hands, overall body positions, degree of vocalization and the amount of writhing.

"The biggest mistake the phonies make is overacting," Solomon said. "When you are really hurt you are not so animated. Also, the two best bets for faking are knee injuries and head injuries. There is a lot of head knocking and knee bashing going on, so it is totally plausible that you could really be hurt.

"The best tactic for both is to lay on the ground somewhat still for a few dramatic moments before trying to bravely get up."

Solomon says if you want to make it look like your knee is collapsed, it's imperative you remember to hold the knee that was actually touched by the player on the other team.

"In the case of the head injury, bravely try to get up and then stagger around a little and collapse," Solomon said helpfully.

Jones says the reason the athletes flail around like bad actors in a silent movie is because they are misjudging the audience. He compares it to a stage actor working with a camera for the first time.

"Soccer games get big crowds, so you might think you want to 'play it big' so your action hits the last row," Jones said. "When you have close-up cameras, it looks really exaggerated. Really, you don't need to play it that big, because the only person you need to fool is the ref."

Jones also says it's best to fake injuries when you're in the ref's peripheral vision, not directly in his line of sight.

"That way, he will turn his head, see you writhing in pain, see the player on the other team nearby, put two and two together and give them a red or yellow card," he said.

The problem with that approach is learning when to quit, according to Solomon, who says players need to pick their spots for bad acting very carefully.

"As far as getting the ref's attention for minor fouls, just forget it and be a man," he said. "Concentrate on winning the game. Your odds of ending up in a movie or on a soap opera -- I once had a minor part in a Mexican soap opera -- are greater as a winner than as a sissy faking injuries.

"Plus, trying to get attention usually backfires because the ref is watching you more and will notice when you screw up."

Solomon says the only upside to faking pain during the World Cup is that "the TV cameras focus on you and you have your few seconds on world TV so your mom and grandmother can point and say 'That's our boy' to the neighbors.

"Of course, the neighbors will say to each other later that you were always a wimp and trying to wiggle out of things the easy way."

But while the soccer stars' attempts at faking injuries look bad to the typically cynical U.S. sports fan who is only a casual observer of the game, acting teacher Stephen Walters says World Cup players deserve props for their commitment.

Walters admits the games he's watched contain "some of the worst acting" he's ever seen.

"Not being a soccer fan, it's comical, but at the same time it's really ridiculous," he said, adding this caveat: "As an acting teacher, I am seriously marveling at their commitment to whatever fake agony they have. I wish my actors would commit to that agony."