Subtext

Adding subtext is one of the strongest ways to bring depth and dimension to a performance. People operate on multiple levels. We often say one thing while meaning another.

The clip above is layered with subtext. Matt LeBlanc's character appears to be talking about the script, but he's really talking about his relationship with her, and she's doing the same. The script becomes a safe proxy for what neither of them can say directly. That's where the scene gets interesting.

The Iceberg

The acting teacher in the clip explains the iceberg analogy: what we see and hear is only a small fraction of what's actually going on.

When you write a character bio, you're creating material to draw from history, wants, fears, and contradictions. All of that lives below the surface and fuels subtext. Characters rarely say exactly what they mean. Someone can say "I love you" and communicate resentment, control, fear, or detachment instead.

Scenes become compelling when meaning lives underneath the dialogue.

Flaws

Flaws are what make characters watchable. Perfection is flat. Humans hide feelings. They avoid confrontation. They cross boundaries. They carry agendas. They bring unresolved past experiences into every interaction.

Dig beneath the dialogue and ask:

• What is the character protecting?

• What are they avoiding?

• What do they want that they can't say out loud?

Subtext lives in those gaps… in what's withheld, redirected, or disguised.

• You can clearly restate the note in your own words

• Your first pass already addresses the core concern

• You ask fewer follow-up questions later in the process

• Your work changes in the right direction, not just a direction

• Notes get smaller instead of multiplying

• Your timing improves before the polish begins

• Leads and directors trust you with broader direction

• You spend less time reworking and more time refining

Bottom line:

When you're truly listening, the work moves forward with less friction.

Ways Animators Kill Subtext Without Realizing It

• Animating exactly what the dialogue says

• Playing the emotion too clean or too literally

• Overposing to "show the idea" instead of letting it leak out

• Resolving the emotion instead of letting it sit uncomfortably

• Making every thought readable instead of selective

• Polishing mechanics before the intention is clear

• Smoothing out asymmetry, hesitation, or conflict

• Treating performance as motion rather than behavior

Gut check:

If the audience understands everything immediately, there may be no subtext left.