Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3243: Bryan Cranston's Body Language at the 2015 Comic-Con (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

In case you missed the news, the annual San Diego Comic-Con is up and running. Many people found Bryan Cranston's interaction with a fan from Albuquerque (during a question and answer session) quite hilarious - and video has subsequently gone viral.

When the man asked how he liked his home town and if he had any fun there, Cranston replied, "Yeah, I'd go and visit your mother once in a while." During and after this answer the "Breaking Bad" star displayed a great example of what is known as a "Self-Righteous Head Wiggle". It's characterized by a side-to-side movement of the head and neck - and often (as is seen here) the SRHW is accompanied by a similar movement of the torso. Sometimes it can be extremely brief - almost a microexpression - although here it is of much longer duration and of considerable amplitude.

The Self-Righteous Head Wiggle may be displayed by those who are relative alpha personalities during moments of extra high confidence and when expressing particularly strong opinions. Sometimes a blatant smugness is clearly felt. It can be thought of as a form of nonverbal swagger - as it is in this example which is clearly a comedic context.

The SRHW can also sometimes have a forward movement component (during moments when arrogance or condescension are coexisting) or backward motion (when disgust, contempt and/or incredulity are present) - although these variations are not exampled here.

A few seconds later - Cranston is seen displaying an inward lip roll coupled with a jaw jut. This pair of nonverbals in this context are tools the psyche uses to suppress and down regulate strong emotional responses -  here that would be all-out laughter (for the actor doesn't want to laugh at his own joke).  Subsequently we see a great example of a suppressed smile.

A "mic drop" is a term used to describe when a performer or speaker intentionally drops/throws the microphone on the floor after particularly good performance. It's often used as a metaphorical description - although here Cranston displays a literal mic drop. It's similar to bravado sports displays after a goal/score.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3242: Jennifer Lawrence, Singing Cher, Liam Hemsworth and Body Language

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3075: Franklin Graham (Billy Graham's son) Blasts Duke University for Muslim "Call to Prayer"

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 1923:  Hillary Clinton's Body Language re: Syrian Government -  The Self-Righteous Head Wiggle 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3089: Walter White as "Sorta Greg" - "Say My Name" - Esurance Super Bowl Commercial 



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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3089: Walter White as "Sorta Greg" - "Say My Name" - Esurance Super Bowl Commercial (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Bryan Cranston recently reincarnated his role as Walter White during Super Bowl XLIX - even if it was just a few seconds during an Esurance commercial. Playing "sorta Greg" pseudo-pharmacist, the brilliant actor made us laugh, suspended our disbelief, and ... at least in this setting, provided a fantastic forum for learning some body language. The woman playing his customer is also brilliant.

During the 0:25 - 0:26 segment, "sorta Greg" wags his head back and forth as he closes his eyes (when he's saying "... sorry ...") in what is one type of backtracking/correcting expression. This is seen during clarifying scenarios when the speaker is restating himself. It is also seen in contexts where the speaker wants someone to "take it with a grain of salt".

At the 0:26 - 0:27 mark (as he says, "... pharmaceuticals ...") we see "almost Greg" display a "Rationalization-Rapport-Empathy-Expression" (aka R2E2). This classic nonverbal signal shows that the speaker is trying to convince us (and often himself) of something. It's thus a strong sign of rationalization.  He's trying to gain our rapport and empathy. We all make this expression from time to time, yet if it's displayed too often, know that the person's over-all character is insincere and manipulative.

Throughout much of this commercial the woman playing the customer gives an excellent expression of disgust. Her down-turned mouth corners, elevated central lips, flared nostrils, dimpled chin, mid-facial tightening all expertly transmit the emotion of disgust.

What other, less prominent, but important emotion is being projected here?




When we say someone is a good actor - and most of course would call Cranston great - what we REALLY mean (although few realize it at a nuanced level) is that their words, their paralanguage (vocal qualities) and their body language are all highly congruent. When they all agree - it just "feels right" - we recognize it as "good" or "great acting" - and when these three don't agree we say they're not so good, etc. The same instinct and logic can also be applied to interpreting sincerity vs. insincerity or truth vs. deception.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3088: Malcolm Butler at the Moment he Caught His Game-Winning Super Bowl Interception

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2397:  Angelina Jolie on Motherhood & Her Own Mom  Body Language Tells ....

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2669: Sara Bareilles and the Body Language of the Rationalization Rapport Empathy Expression

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2329:  Sheryl Sandberg (COO of Facebook) on 60 Minutes  AND a bit of Mark Zuckerberg -  Two Crucial Body Language Tells

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2603: Sarah Palin's Body Language - She Feels Disgust toward Pope Francis and ... She Tells a Fib

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2868: Queen Elizabeth II, Lena Headey, Game of Thrones and Body Language

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Body Language Analysis No. 2526: Skyler White, Anna Gunn and "Breaking Bad"

In this interview with Gayle King, the Emmy nominated Anna Gunn talks about her character Skyler White - the wife of Bryan Cranston's character's Walter White's in AMC's "Breaking Bad" as well as the public's dislike of her character (of which she also wrote an Op-Ed in the New York Times). Oodles of juicy nonverbal communication are displayed in this video.

Note: The original video has, since the original post, been removed from its online source. The images below however, were captured from this video.

At the 2:09 mark, Gayle begins "Look, Let's talk about warm and fuzzy, because Anna people don't like you. They don't ... they don't like your character. I mean you've been described as shrew, harpy, annoying, bitch wife, I've never hated a T.V. show character as much as I hate her. These are all things people have written about you. And at some point it got so vicious that it even turned to you personally - where someone said, 'Tell me where I can find Anna Gunn so I can kill her.' Did it scare you?"

Just before Ann answers, "It didn't scare me at first ...." (at 2:33), Ms. Gunn's neck muscles undergo a moderately-strong contract for about a second (slightly longer than a microexpression). Here it's primarily Anna's sternocleidomastoid (long ropy & cylindrical muscles of neck) muscles that tighten - although often it's primarily the platsyma (thin near-paper thin muscle that lies just beneath the skin of the entire front of the neck and acts to give the neck a "tented-up" appearance). The platysma is not contracted as much in this particular example.

These highly characteristic neck muscle contractions is but one type body language which is highly correlative with fear. And after all, wouldn't you be afraid if someone threatened to kill you?

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2344:  Jillian Michaels Body Language - Neck of Fear & Mouth of Fear

Negotiation Secret # 329: Angela Merkel's Neck of Fear

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2498:  McKenzie Morgan,  17 Year-Old Solo Pilot Walks Away From Crash  Partial Mouth and Neck of Fear Body Language

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2261:  Mom pulls Python off of her 2 year old daughter -  Body Language & Microexpression of Fear

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2486:  Katie Holmes on David Letterman and the  "Social Etiquette Fear Face"

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2454:  NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman & a  Subtle "Neck of Fear"

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2517:  Bashar al-Assad Fears Over-Throw if U.S. Attacks, Body Language Tell During Charlie Rose Interview, Part II

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