Acting vs Lying

act or lie???

Acting and lying have some similarities, that are why people get confused with the usage of these two words. Many things can be said about the similarities of acting and lying.  Both spin a falsehood, leading the audience deeper and deeper into the trap until the very end when they are released.  Both force the performer into a position where they are not entirely themselves and not entirely in control of what they say or do.  However, there are striking differences between acting and lying.

            The first thing that makes acting different from lying is that liars are always themselves, but actors play someone else. When we are lying, we are just showing a different side of ourselves, or a different part of our personality. We do not talk to our parents the same way we talk to our friends or other people. Chances are that we change the way that we talk or the things we say. Actor lies for the sake of the character he is playing, while the liar lies for himself. Acting is an art, and though both actor as well as audience knows that the actor is lying and just portraying the character. They are led into believing that actor is really the character on screen. Many talented actors can play very different characters just like themselves in movies or plays.

            The second different thing between laying and acting is that lying happens on a regular basis. We all started on the practice of lying in our childhood though we are always taught the importance of the virtue of truth. Lying may be as common as a second nature to us. When caught in the act of lying, we may try to cover it up. Either changing the whole story or using words that let others know that it was only for play or how sorry we are. Similar to lying, acting is also done just as often as lying. However, the only difference is the actors often do not make up their own lies in movies or plays. They have someone else to do it. When the actors are not believable, they do not just pretend that did not say it. This is when the script is changed to make it more believable.

            The last thing that makes lying quite different from acting is the reason. To start off with a lie or a scene there is always a reason. For instance in lying, the reason may be that if you do not lie then you can have trouble. This is often the most common reason for lying. Another reason is because we may be told something like a secret. Someone then may ask us if we have heard anything about that. Obviously we do not want to ruin a surprise, break our trust, or even ruin a relationship with telling the truth. On the other hand, for acting the reason could be thought as the director is the one making the lies. However, following and reading is the same thing. Actors really lie for the money, attention, and jobs.

            Generally, acting and lying are two thing that almost the same. Yet, they have their own characteristics inside that make them become very different. The different may come from the personality, intensity, and also the reason. From the differences, acting is seen as a good thing whereas lying is a negative one. In a simple way, we can say that an actor is the best of liars, but a liar is the worst of actors.