chew the scenery

Meaning

To 'chew the scenery' means to act in an overly dramatic, exaggerated, or theatrical way. It is typically used to describe actors who overact to draw attention to themselves, but it can also describe someone in real life who is being excessively dramatic.

Examples

• I love old horror movies where the villains just chew the scenery in every single scene.

  I love old horror movies where the villains just chew the scenery in every single scene.

• Instead of delivering a subtle performance, he decided to chew the scenery.

  Instead of delivering a subtle performance, he decided to chew the scenery.

• She really started to chew the scenery during her emotional breakdown in act two.

  She really started to chew the scenery during her emotional breakdown in act two.

• The director had to ask the lead actor to stop chewing the scenery and keep it natural.

  The director had to ask the lead actor to stop chewing the scenery and keep it natural.

• It was a silly comedy, so the actors were encouraged to chew the scenery as much as possible.

  It was a silly comedy, so the actors were encouraged to chew the scenery as much as possible.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ He was chewing the scene during his speech.

  ✓ He was chewing the scenery during his speech.

  The idiom uses the noun 'scenery' (the physical theatrical background), not 'scene'.

• ✗ She chewed the scenery very well.

  ✓ She chewed the scenery.

  'Chew the scenery' usually carries a slightly critical connotation of overacting. Adding 'very well' creates a contradiction since the behavior is typically seen as excessive or bad acting.

Related Expressions

Practice

• The actor decided to ___ in the final act, crying hysterically and waving his arms.

  💡 To act in an excessively dramatic or exaggerated way.

  Show answer

  chew the scenery

• Some people prefer subtle acting, but I enjoy it when villains really ___.

  💡 Think about physically biting the theatrical background.

  Show answer

  chew the scenery