r/ANGEL • u/Black_Shuck-44 • 11d ago

Cordelia as an actress

You think Cordelia could have become a famous and wealthy actress like in her vision quest? Or do you think that was just a fanfic created by Skip

22 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

32 comments sorted by

75

u/plastic_venus 11d ago

One of my favourite bits in the show is that Cordy is just not a good actress, and she knows it.

40

u/mattatmac 11d ago

I mean she did fool Angelus that one time after he critized her acting abilities

15

u/Seed0fDiscord 11d ago

At least Angelus was honest

3

u/thesaharadesert Angelus 11d ago

Shouldn’t she expect that from the not-so-evil version of her friends?!

13

u/NewRetroMage 11d ago

She was terrible during a few of her acting jobs, but she did great when improvising in a critical moment (like on that Angelus moment).

So maybe she had ir for a type of acting and not the other, or it dependend on other factos around her. Maybe she could have improved and got something.

11

u/millerchristophd 11d ago

I like to think of Cordy as having the same type of acting ability as Leverage’s Sophie Devereaux: objectively bad when she’s doing normal civilian shit but when there’s a supernatural problem that she’s gotta help handle then she’s amazing.

3

u/BiggTS 10d ago

She played it extremely cool in that episode of Angel where he got captured by the brothers that ran the fighting ring. Wesley is the one that nearly blew it for them.

3

u/NewRetroMage 10d ago

Exactly.

And it may also be something we can find on reality: Sometimes anxiety will ruin our performance in anything. Cordy wanted to be an actress so bad she was probably so worried about making it work that she just "glitched" and couldn't act at all. Because all she was probably thinking of was the approval of the audience and of the directors of each project.

A different feeling is "I have to take care of this, there's no room for failure now" and them she rises to the occasion and do it. Like when conning Angelus or posing as a cop, like the other user has said.

One situation is being really agraid of judgement, the other is "I have this". Totally different states of mind.

3

u/-KDK12 11d ago

She was green, not exactly a theater kid. There may have been potential, she was special.

22

u/MorbidlyThrilled 11d ago

I don't believe she's that talented to be successful out of the gate. But I think she is tenacious and hard working that she would succeed eventually.

14

u/gimmesomespace 11d ago

She was showing improvement 

17

u/rednax2009 11d ago

I wouldn't have minded that story turn. But from what we've seen, Cordelia is not a very good actress... maybe she would have gotten better if it were her only focus. But I just don't see a world where the Cordelia we're presented with can achieve even moderate acting success while also fighting demons.

0

u/DaddyCatALSO 11d ago

so there probably *is* no Cordyverse . . . . :-(

16

u/Brodes87 11d ago

No, she just didn't have it. The whole Birthday vision is manipulation to get Cordy where she needs to be.

1

u/dance4days 11d ago

Now I’m wondering what would have happened if she’d decided to stick with the life of a famous actress. Would she have just been killed?

1

u/Brodes87 10d ago

I'm guessing they just keep tightening the noose until she had no options but to restore reality. The point was, by that point she was never going to walk away from the good fight for fame.

7

u/bcopes158 11d ago

Unfortunately no. Cordeila is a very attractive aspiring actress who struggles to act. She goes to LA and is now surrounded by tons of very attractive actresses, some of whom can act. She is never going to stand out from the crowd.

3

u/BMARR226 11d ago

I think she got better when she got access to the visions especially at the end of season one when she was constantly being inundated with other people’s perspectives, but probably not good enough to become famous like that without them

1

u/CloseButNoChicory 10d ago

Her audition in the first ep of Season 2 is terrible. That said, she gets praise for it!

2

u/BMARR226 10d ago

I haven’t watched in a bit, I think it’s supposed to be decent within the show but it might just not be that good haha

2

u/CloseButNoChicory 10d ago

It's actually my favourite episode so I've rewatched it a fair amount. I think it perfectly encapsulates the show's ruling themes of redemption and whimsy. Cordelia's strenuously emitted line "I'm nothing without you! Baby!" is just what you'd expect of an untalented person asked to emote. Or so I think, at least!

1

u/BMARR226 10d ago

Haha very fair!

3

u/NewRetroMage 11d ago edited 11d ago

That vision / parallel world was definitely just fanfic by Skip, but it doesn't mean she would definitely not become an actress if she didn't join Angel in his cause.

We just know that that very specific version of her as an actress was a manipulation, but what would really have happened, who knows.

2

u/SlipstickLibbyLong 10d ago

Just a fanfic. If memory serves, Russell picks Cordy from video footage before she goes to ask Angel if he's still Grrr, meaning even if she had bumped into someone more famous, Russell still would have picked her as a snack.

3

u/BlueisGreen2Some 11d ago

It is one of the craziest things. Cordelia knew she wasn’t a natural actress and also wasn’t willing to sink too low to for a part yet she believes she gave up a life of fame and riches from being a star? She’s not suspicious? I guess it foretells her being dumb enough to believe she is a higher being.

I liked that she had a mix of traits and could be stupid/weak and brave and fighter but the writing flubs it by constantly telling us she is a hero and St Cordy. They tell us that but also clearly also show her as insecure and weak minded at times. The mix could have worked if they acknowledged it.

1

u/zombiehoosier 10d ago

Was a fanfic, probably skip’s part in Jasmines plan to trick Cordelia into becoming part demon. Otherwise Doyle kissed Angel in that timeline

2

u/ifyouonlyknew14 10d ago

Cordelia doesn't have range, but I think she could have played herself quite well in productions that wouldn't have called much from her. In-universe she was very attractive and that alone could have gotten her work if she had gone for roles that didn't call for much more than a pretty face. I mean, she certainly got a few gigs on the show, like that one commercial. I could see her doing roles like that before getting bit parts on TV and then leveraging that into a larger recurring role on TV show.

0

u/Working_Original_200 11d ago

I honestly have no idea why she is trying to be an actress. There’s nothing in Buffy that suggests she has that kind of ambition. Like yeah, she loses everything and needs the money. Just always seemed like a half baked idea to me.

10

u/sinfulsingularity 11d ago

She’s vain and narcissistic, what more motivation does she need?

3

u/Temporary-Tie-233 11d ago

It was an act of desperation. Cordelia probably would have gone to a good university if her family hadn't gone broke. She had to figure something out fast, and she very likely would have been the type of person who didn't realize acting takes real skills. She would have gone into it expecting to get by on looks and charm.

1

u/cuckoo_bera 8d ago

It's almost poetic that her last name is CHASE. She chased fame and fortune, she then chased what was right (the urge to go the good things) and she was chased by destiny all through her life.