pretending and acting in that way
This year’s Emmy nominations have been announced, and Sir Ian McKellen is up for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. Specifically, he’s been nominated for playing a parody of himself (as himself) in Ricky Gervais’s Extras. Receiving an Emmy nomination for a britcom seems odd, but since Extras is distributed by HBO in the U. S., Sir Ian is, blessedly, eligible.
The entire guest role is more or less just these three minutes, and my love of the scene is precisely documented. I can quote the thing verbatim. Even the outtakes are hilarious.
Not that an actor like Ian McKellen really needs an Emmy, but I’ll be rooting for him on the night. If he wins, how will he know what to say? The words will be written down for him in a script. How will he know where to stand? People will tell him.
And he would learn the words. There would be no script on the night. And that goes for everyone. There will be no scripts on the night! You learn the words!