chew up the scenery
Perform with excess
To chew up the scenery is to act with exaggerated emotion and theatrical excess, especially in a way that draws attention from other performers.
The phrase evokes an actor so dramatically overwrought they might as well be gnawing on the stage sets: He really chewed up the scenery in that death scene.
Sometimes called scenery-chewing or hamming it up.
- overactingExcessive theatrical performance
- dramaticsTheatrical art or behavior
- melodramaSensational, emotionally overwrought drama
- theatricalityExaggerated, showy manner
- histrionicsExaggerated emotional behavior
lay it on thick · steal the show · overplay · exaggeration · mugging · ham it up · emote · bombast · go big or go home · campiness · self-indulgence · showboat · play to the gallery · grandstand · ostentation · flamboyance · dramatic flair · expressiveness
chew up the sceneryunderact
Perform with insufficient expression
underplay · play it cool · dial it back · hold back · deadpan
chew up the scenerykeep a low profile
Remain unnoticed deliberately
blend in · self-effacing · unassuming · recede · play second fiddle
chew, chews, chewed, chewing, chewable, chewy, scene, scenes, scenic