"When you are doing a show, it can get really dull. You are sitting so long while they set up the lights, then you say a couple of lines, then they tear down the lights again. At least stunts are something that uses your physical energy a great deal"
About this Quote
Acting, Craig reminds us, is often less glamour than glorified loitering. Her complaint isn’t petulant; it’s a tiny act of demystification aimed at an industry that sells motion while demanding stillness. The line lands because it breaks the fantasy of performance into its most uncinematic ingredients: waiting for lights, delivering “a couple of lines,” watching the machine reset. The repetition of setup-speak (“set up,” “tear down”) turns production into a treadmill of technical rituals where the actor becomes one more movable part.
The subtext is a quiet argument about agency. Craig contrasts speaking with doing: dialogue is rationed, but stunts “use your physical energy,” letting her feel the work in her muscles instead of her patience. That’s not just a preference for action sequences; it’s a claim that bodily risk and exertion can be more honest than the stop-start artificiality of a set. In a medium where control is distributed among directors, cinematographers, and crews, stunts offer a rare pocket of ownership: you can’t “cheat” the sensation of effort the way you can cheat emotion with lighting, coverage, or editing.
Context matters, too. Craig’s career in pop-forward, physical roles (most famously Batgirl) makes this a gendered aside as much as a practical one: action isn’t merely spectacle, it’s a route to being taken seriously in a workplace that can sideline performers into passivity. She’s praising stunts not because they’re safe or easy, but because they make the job feel like a job.
The subtext is a quiet argument about agency. Craig contrasts speaking with doing: dialogue is rationed, but stunts “use your physical energy,” letting her feel the work in her muscles instead of her patience. That’s not just a preference for action sequences; it’s a claim that bodily risk and exertion can be more honest than the stop-start artificiality of a set. In a medium where control is distributed among directors, cinematographers, and crews, stunts offer a rare pocket of ownership: you can’t “cheat” the sensation of effort the way you can cheat emotion with lighting, coverage, or editing.
Context matters, too. Craig’s career in pop-forward, physical roles (most famously Batgirl) makes this a gendered aside as much as a practical one: action isn’t merely spectacle, it’s a route to being taken seriously in a workplace that can sideline performers into passivity. She’s praising stunts not because they’re safe or easy, but because they make the job feel like a job.
Quote Details
| Topic | Work |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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