How to Cry on Command (and What Actors Use When They Can't)

To cry on command, stop chasing the tears. Work out what your character has lost or needs, make it vivid through the circumstances and your imagination, let your breath go, and allow whatever comes. Casting directors told us they want truthful emotion, not tears for their own sake. On set, when real tears won't come, the makeup department has menthol tear sticks and tear blowers.

Can you really learn to cry on command?

You can learn to make tears much more likely, but no technique guarantees them every time. Emotion follows thought and circumstance; it doesn't respond well to effort. Pushing for tears usually produces tension and a face that looks like it is trying.

Casting director Gayle Pillsbury put it simply: you may have cried in rehearsal and feel angry in the room. Seasoned actors flow with what is really there in the moment instead of replaying the rehearsal, and that truthful reaction is what makes a scene land.

How do actors make themselves cry?

Most approaches come down to a few well-established routes, which different acting techniques weight differently:

• The circumstances. Get specific about what has just happened, what is at stake and what your character stands to lose. The clearer the stakes, the less you need to manufacture.
• Imagination. Picture the situation in detail: who is there, what you see, what is said. Stella Adler's approach works mainly this way.
• Substitution. Actor and teacher Anthony Brandon Wong endows his scene partner with someone from his own life who gives him a need to win the scene. Veteran actor Kevin E. West recalls a real day you felt the way the character feels.
• Memory. Method acting uses sense and emotional memory, recreating a real feeling from your past. See our guide to acting techniques.
• Breath and body. Tears often arrive when you stop holding your breath and let the feeling move through you, rather than clamping down on it.

One caution from casting workshop expert Ajarae Coleman: she doesn't believe actors should use their own past traumas, and recommends building imagination and empathy so you are not re-traumatising yourself.

Is it OK not to cry in an audition?

Yes. When a script says "she cries", casting director Alexa Pereira told us the stage direction is really pointing at the intention underneath it, and you don't always have to follow it literally. Anger, for example, can be a quiet seethe rather than shouting.

Kahleen Crawford made a similar point about demo reels: a crying scene doesn't prove you're good, and she trusts that you'll get there. What casting wants is the truth of the moment. If tears come, let them. If they don't, stay connected to what the character wants and keep going.

How do I prepare for a crying scene in the room?

Protect your preparation. Casting director Josh Einsohn told us that when a role needs you to cry, he brings actors straight in, goes right into the scene, and slates and chats afterwards. Lou Mitchell said the same: tell her you'd rather not break, and you'll go straight to the scene.

Kym Jackson's tip is to ask the casting associate, or whoever is running the waiting room, to let the casting director know you'd love to chat after the audition rather than before. Experienced casting directors usually go straight into heavy scenes anyway.

How do I film a crying scene on a self tape?

Send options. Casting director Rachel Sutton asks newer actors for several different takes and, for an emotional or intense scene, suggests thinking of a dial: one take at level 10 if you like, then also 6, 4 and 2.

Frame a little closer for the emotional scene so casting can see your eyes, Kym advises, and don't burn out the scene in rehearsal. She runs highly emotional scenes at about 70 percent while learning lines, because you can run out of tears. More in our self tape tips.

What do actors use to cry on set?

When real tears won't come take after take, makeup artists have tools. These belong to the makeup department, so ask them rather than experimenting near your eyes yourself. As of November 2026, the manufacturers describe them like this:

• Tear stick. Kryolan describes its Tear Stick as a wax stick with menthol and camphor, applied to the skin about 15 mm under the eye, not in it; body warmth releases vapour that rises to the eye. Its label warns to keep it away from children and to get medical advice if eye irritation persists.
• Tear blower. Kryolan calls its Tear Blower a make-up artist's tool: a tube filled with menthol crystals that is blown towards the actor's eye from about 10 cm away.
• Glycerin. Graftobian sells a glycerin product for fake tears and sweat that can be dropped onto the cheek, and says never to place a drop directly in the eye.

These make your eyes water. They don't supply the emotion, so the camera still needs your thoughts.

How do you keep crying take after take?

Expect to do it many times. Casting director Lisa Zambetti told us that with an emotional scene on set you have to hit your mark and cry, again and again, while the director may be busy with the series regulars. Her advice is to use your trailer time to know the scene inside out.

Pace yourself: rehearse below full intensity, as Kym does, and save your fullest work for the shots that are on you.

Should my demo reel open with a crying scene?

Not just because you cry in it. Kahleen Crawford warned against starting a reel with your crying scene to prove you can act. Demo reel producer Brett Newton prefers scenes that build an emotional arc over ones that start at full intensity, and reminds actors that the boom mic is close, so screaming and sobbing need control on set. See actor demo reels.

How do I look after myself after a heavy scene?

Build a way to come back to yourself: a walk, a shower, food, music, time with someone you trust. Karen Workman, who has raised working teen actors, suggests a trusted friend or a counsellor who can help an actor "detox" from a role.

If a scene leaves you distressed for days, or stirs up something painful from your own life, talk to a qualified mental health professional. Looking after yourself is part of the job, not a sign you can't do it.

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