Editing Breaking character (section)

==On television==
Examples of actors breaking character on television include:

* [[Lucille Ball]], in a rare example of breaking character for her, was forced to break character during filming of "Lucy and Viv Put in a Shower", a season 1 episode of ''[[The Lucy Show]]''. In the climactic scene, the titular shower filled with water due to a drain malfunction, and Ball nearly drowned attempting to unplug it. Co-star [[Vivian Vance]] hastily reworked the script to allow Ball to recover her composure.<ref>{{Cite book | title=The Other Side of Ethel Mertz | author=Frank Castelluccio & Alvin Walker | publisher=Knowledge, Ideas & Trends | page=[https://archive.org/details/othersideofethel00cast/page/270 270] | year=1998 | isbn=1-879198-26-6 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/othersideofethel00cast/page/270 }}</ref> Ball's near-drowning was included in the finished episode, which was one of several from the series to lapse into the [[public domain]].

* Many instances of breaking character have occurred on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', where showrunner [[Lorne Michaels]] is known to strongly discourage character breaks:<ref name="farout">{{Cite web |date=2023-03-22 |title=The 'SNL' mistake that Will Ferrell loved most |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-snl-mistake-that-will-ferrell-loved-most/ |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=faroutmagazine.co.uk |language=en-US}}</ref>
**[[Christina Applegate]] and [[David Spade]] could not stop laughing at [[Chris Farley]]'s motivational speaker character, [[Matt Foley]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv2VIEY9-A8 | title=Matt Foley: Van Down by the River - SNL | website=[[YouTube]] | date=25 September 2013 }}</ref> 
**The band members in the "[[More Cowbell]]" sketch broke character reacting to [[Will Ferrell]]'s antics. [[Jimmy Fallon]] often broke character, which became one of his trademarks.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://zap2it.com/2014/03/jimmy-fallon-and-james-franco-laugh-about-more-cowbell-sketch-from-snl-on-tonight-show/ |author= Reiher, Andrea |date= Mar 15, 2014 |title= Jimmy Fallon and James Franco laugh about 'more cowbell' sketch from 'SNL' on 'Tonight Show' |publisher= Zap2it |quote= 'You always cracked up!' says Franco. |access-date= September 7, 2015 |archive-date= September 8, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150908105524/http://zap2it.com/2014/03/jimmy-fallon-and-james-franco-laugh-about-more-cowbell-sketch-from-snl-on-tonight-show/ |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://ultimateclassicrock.com/jimmy-fallon-recalls-famous-blue-oyster-cult-more-cowbell-saturday-night-live-skit/ |author= Lifton, Dave |date= June 27, 2012 |title= Jimmy Fallon Recalls Famous Blue Oyster Cult / 'More Cowbell' Saturday Night Live Skit |publisher= ultimateclassicrock.com |quote= ...Fallon ... often had difficulty keeping a straight face. In a new interview, Fallon recalls why he broke up in the middle of the famous 'More Cowbell' sketch... |access-date= September 7, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url= http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/07/25/snl_actors_cracking_up_supercut_when_is_ok_for_snl_cast_members_to_break.html |author= Winter, Jessica |date= July 25, 2013 |title= When Is It OK to Crack Up? Some Ground Rules for the Cast of SNL |magazine= [[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |access-date= September 7, 2015}}</ref>
** Perhaps the most severe example of an entire cast breaking is the first appearance of the [[Debbie Downer]] character, where in a 2004 skit featuring [[Rachel Dratch]], guest host [[Lindsay Lohan]] and others, Dratch eventually struggles to exclaim to exaggerated effect "By the way ... I can't have children!"<ref name="farout"/><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-08-24 |title=Debbie Downer: A History of Rachel Dratch's Iconic SNL Character |url=https://www.nbc.com/nbc-insider/debbie-downer-origin-snl-rachel-dratch |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=NBC Insider Official Site |language=en-US}}</ref>
** While playing [[NewsNation]] host Bobbi Moore in an April 13, 2024 ''SNL'' skit, [[Heidi Gardner]], who has built a reputation for maintaining composure during comedy scenes, drew considerable attention for corpsing in what ''Vulture'' magazine characterized "in spectacularly charming fashion".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ivie |first=Devon |date=2024-04-15 |title=Heidi Gardner Couldn't Prepare for What She Saw |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/snl-heidi-gardner-beavis-and-butthead-sketch-interview.html |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=Vulture |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Perez |first=Lexy |date=2024-04-16 |title=Heidi Gardner Reacts to Breaking Character During 'SNL' 'Beavis and Butt-Head' Sketch: "I Lost It" |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/heidi-gardner-reacts-snl-beavis-and-butt-head-sketch-1235874970/ |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharf |first=Zack |date=2024-04-16 |title='SNL' Star Heidi Gardner Says 'Anxiety Set in' After Breaking So Hard During 'Beavis and Butt-Head' Sketch: 'I'll Never Be Able to Shake' What I Saw |url=https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/snl-heidi-gardner-breaking-beavis-and-butthead-sketch-1235972462/ |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-16 |title='SNL' Star Heidi Gardner Feels Terrible She Broke Character During 'Beavis And Butt-Head' Skit |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/snl-star-heidi-gardner-feels-terrible-she-broke-character-during-beavis-and-butt-head-skit_n_661e9fa8e4b046441aa31524 |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ortiz |first=Andi |date=2024-04-16 |title=SNL: Heidi Gardner Explains Why She Lost It in 'Beavis and Butt-Head' Sketch |url=https://www.thewrap.com/snl-heidi-gardner-explains-why-she-cracked-up-beavis-butt-head-sketch/ |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=TheWrap |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-18 |title='SNL' shows behind-the-scenes footage of 'Beavis and Butt-Head' skit that broke Heidi Gardner |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/tv/snl-beavis-butthead-skit-rcna147797 |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=TODAY.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Evans |first=Greg |date=2024-04-16 |title=Heidi Gardner Explains Butt-Head Crack-Up On Last Saturday's 'SNL' |url=https://deadline.com/2024/04/heidi-gardner-beavis-butt-head-1235886944/ |access-date=2024-04-30 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref>
* In the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode "[[The Daleks' Master Plan|The Feast of Steven]]", actor [[William Hartnell]] breaks character to wish the audience a merry [[Christmas]], with actors [[Peter Purves]] and [[Jean Marsh]] also breaking character, erupting in laughter. The Christmas address was scripted, but the laughter was not.<ref group=Note name=Note01>As ''The Feast of Steven'' was a one-off [[Filler (media)|filler]] episode, [[Doctor Who Missing Episodes|and now only survives as a home-made audio recording]], it's possible that the episode contains other instances of actors visually breaking character.</ref> 
* On ''[[The Daily Show]]'', [[Jon Stewart]] or one of the correspondents occasionally broke character during a segment. One example was a piece on an allegation of a homosexual relationship involving [[Charles III|the then Prince Charles]] and the British tabloids' shameless use of innuendo and euphemisms to spread the rumor while avoiding [[libel]]ous statements. The segment had [[Stephen Colbert]] "reporting" from Britain and explaining, in terms laden with homoerotic imagery, that it would be journalistically irresponsible to go into detail about the story. He then peeled a banana and took a huge bite of it in imitation of [[fellatio]], causing himself to smile and Stewart to begin giggling off screen. By the end of the segment, Colbert was laughing so hard he could barely speak.<ref name="colbertbanana">{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.cc.com/video/1gonk2/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-prince-charles-scandal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210130071449/https://www.cc.com/video/1gonk2/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-prince-charles-scandal |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 30, 2021 |title=Prince Charles Scandal - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart |date=2003-11-11 |language=en-us |access-date=2024-04-30 |via=www.cc.com}}</ref>
*[[Tim Conway]] took great pleasure in pushing his [[Carol Burnett Show]] co-stars to lose composure and break out in helpless laughter – in particular, [[Harvey Korman]], in their Dentist Sketch as well as many others.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IUSM4EKcRI | title=The Dentist from the Carol Burnett Show (Full sketch) | website=[[YouTube]] | date=9 May 2019 }}</ref> [[Vicki Lawrence]], as Mama in one of their many "The Family" sketches, scored a rare turnabout on Conway (as Mickey, Ed's (Korman) hardware-store employee), who had reduced Burnett and Van Dyke to fits of laughter in the Siamese Elephant Sketch. After Conway's repeated interruptions during the sketch, making a bizarre story incrementally even more so, the cast attempted to resume the sketch – prompting Lawrence to break the [[fourth wall]] and ask Eunice ([[Carol Burnett]]) "You sure that little asshole's through?" which brought down the cast and studio audience as well.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uasRKdYZ4xQ | title=Carol Burnett Outtakes - the Hysterical Elephant Story by Tim Conway! | website=[[YouTube]] | date=March 2023 }}</ref> Needless to say, the scene ended up on the cutting-room floor and is recognized as one of the best-known "blooper" outtakes in TV history. Asked about the scene, years later, Lawrence cryptically replied that the scene may have been an outtake, but wasn't a blooper. She never fully elaborated afterward.