Acting! (Acting!)

For those that do not remember SNL in the '80s, here is a quick synopsis. It started off badly, got worse fast, picked up a bit under Eddie Murphy (and, oddly, Joe Piscopo), then cratered in '85-'86 with a rather talented cast (Joan Cusack, Randy Quaid, Anthony Michael Hall, Robert Downey Jr.) that could not write or stay sober. The show was briefly canceled after this season, before Lorne Michaels, who had only returned the previous season, convinced NBC to give him six more episodes. He brought in an almost entirely new cast for 1986, including such fondly remembered alums as Dana Carvey, Kevin Nealon, Dennis Miller, Phil Hartman and Jon Lovitz.

Phil Hartman, of course, is the one who is most recognized as the guy with the timeless talent. You can see bits of what he was going to bring to SNL in this audition tape.


In the last two minutes of that video, you can see his work with fellow Groundling Jon Lovitz. It was Lovitz who created, by my belief, the best character of SNL at the time. That character was Master Thespian.

Master Thespian was an actor too full of himself to realize just how bad he was. He would attempt to inject his craft into every aspect of his life and impress whoever he was interacting with. He would inspire reactions from those around him, then cut character, yelling out "Acting!" to let others know they had been had.


All of this just to get around to a soccer video. Sergio Escudero plays alongside the newly resurgent Fat Ronaldo for Corinthians in Brazil. Here we see a bit of his acting (Acting!) as he gets felled by an assistant referee's flag.


Just wow. The questions raised by his actions are numerous. What was he trying to gain? Was he trying to get the Lino sent off? Did he try to sell that he was pushed into the flag? Is it just his natural reaction whenever something gets close to his face? I have no idea. What I do know is that he is a Grade A asshole.

Spotted on Champions 365. Go give them some love.