Anna Faris is more known for comedy than dramatic flair, but throughout her career, there have been times when the actress has needed to well up with emotion and shed a tear or two. It’s more difficult than you might guess for some people to fake cry, and on a recent episode of The Late Late Show with James Corden, Faris revealed the secret to some of her crying scenes. It’s none other than a tear stick. Here’s what she had to say:
The actor’s secret is a little bit of a… there is a trick… so this is like a menthol crystal. It’s kind of like Vic’s VapoRub for your eyeballs.
There haven’t been that many times when I’ve seen Anna Faris cry onscreen, but her family sitcom Mom does feature the occasional heartfelt moment, so it’s not really surprising that Faris is familiar with the stick. I also like that she describes the experience as VapoRub for your eyeballs, vivid imagery that totally gives me an idea of how it must feel to shove that stuff in your face, despite having no actual experience with it.
To prove her point on the late night series, the actress actually pulls out one of these weird-looking tear sticks, and uses it on herself, Corden and fellow guest Joshua Jackson. If you aren’t familiar with this acting trick, the whole thing is pretty informative, but even if you are, it’s still really, really fun to watch.
Honestly, Faris is full of tricks. In the Late Late Show interview, she also reveals that Mom co-star Allison Janney gave her some great advice regarding how to fake laugh on TV, which basically boils down to pretending you’ve gotten punched in the stomach. Apparently, Allison Janney is just a font of knowledge, as she actually schooled her co-star on how to crush the American Ninja Warrior course just last year.
Obviously some actors don’t have to resort to using the tear stick. Many can and have proven they can cry on command, including Bryce Dallas Howard, who showed Conan O’Brien the trick just a few months ago. Obviously, that’s not the Faris way, and that’s a-OK.
You can probably catch Faris crying again if you keep tuning in for new episodes of Mom this season, which air on Thursday nights at 9 p.m. ET. New episodes of CBS’ The Late Late Show with James Corden air on weeknights at 12:37 p.m. ET.
