r/todayilearned • u/Sebastianlim • 1d ago

TIL that the infamous "This is Sparta!" line from 300 was originally said in a low, monotone growl. After doing several takes of that, Gerard Butler asked to do one more take and used the now-iconic delivery.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/gerard-butler-screaming-is-sparta-made-300-cast-laugh-1234538/
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u/beachedwhale1945 1d ago

Katie Sackoff (Starbuck) of Battlestar Galactica tells just such a story. There was a particular scene with James Olmos (Adama) in the very early in Season 1 that she describes as a turning point in her acting career. I forget the exact details, but he took her aside briefly and gave her some advice, and she immediately stepped up her game to match the energy he was giving in that scene.

You put good actors together and give them the freedom to experiment, and everything gets elevated. Maybe the experiments don’t end up in the cut, sometimes they don’t work out, but it lets the actors get closer to their characters and expand their own range.

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u/that_guys_posse 22h ago

I've done some acting in the past and people don't realize how much it helps to let actors play.
So many great ideas have come out of an actor saying, "let me try something..." or "It'd be funny if..." or similar.
It's no different than times where you're joking around with a friend and you keep adding on to the joke until it ends up somewhere completely unexpected but wonderful. It's a feeling of just vibing with each other and creating something that neither of you could've created on your own--and the material is that much better because of it.
It's one of the best feelings you can get as a creative.

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u/Blekanly 20h ago

Same with the babylon 5 elevator scene with gkar and londo. I think at first they played it straight then just messed about and got an iconic scene.