Emilia Clarke shuts down critics of green screen acting

LOS ANGELES: ‘Game of Thrones’ star Emilia Clarke called out people who think green screen acting is not “real acting”.

During an interview with the Los Angeles Times, published online Wednesday, the actress, who has been in several projects that have had cast members interact with a green screen, including Secret Invasion and Game of Thrones, expressed her views, The Hollywood Reporter reported.

“The stigma is that people don’t do any acting in these shows,” Clarke said. “And then you’re like, ‘Well, then why are they asking all these great actors to do it, and why are they saying yes?'”

Green screen acting requires actors to perform in front of a solid-colour background (usually green or blue). The footage is then tweaked in post-production by visual effects artists who replace the coloured filler with any background image or footage.

The actress’ rationale was that if it isn’t “real” acting, then top actors, such as her Secret Invasion co-stars Samuel L. Jackson and Olivia Colman, wouldn’t take on roles in projects that use green screens.

“The cast is ridiculous,” she added of her fellow cast members in the Marvel series. “I was like, ‘Where do I sign?'”

Clarke’s comments come more than two years after Anthony Hopkins, who has also been in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Odin in the Thor films, criticised the green screen acting.

“On Thor, you have Chris Hemsworth — who looks like Thor — and a director like Kenneth Branagh, who is so certain of what he wants,” the actor explained at the time. “They put me in armor; they shoved a beard on me. Sit on the throne; shout a bit. If you’re sitting in front of a green screen, it’s pointless acting it.”