Shona McGarty, known for her role as Whitney Dean in EastEnders, has shared how she effortlessly sheds tears during emotional scenes on the BBC One soap. Over the 16 years that Whitney has been a part of the show, Shona has portrayed a range of heartbreaking moments, with her character enduring nearly every emotional challenge imaginable.
Shona, who left EastEnders earlier this year, has consistently delivered powerful performances, and recently she revealed how she’s able to create such raw emotion on screen. Appearing on RTE’s The 2 Johnnies Late Night Lock In, she explained that there are two main techniques actors use when they need to cry on cue.
“You can either think of something really sad,” Shona said, “or you can use what I like to call the acting stick.” She then pulled out a small tube from her top and showed it to the camera. The host asked how it worked, and Shona demonstrated by applying a small amount of the substance to the back of her hand before placing it in the corner of her eye.
“It’s a tear stick!” she exclaimed, and moments later, her eyes welled up with tears, prompting applause from the audience. “It makes you cry!” she added, revealing her method for producing tears on demand.
Crying on camera is a skill, and Shona isn’t the first actor to discuss the methods used for emotional scenes. Margot Robbie, star of Barbie, shared that she also knows how to cry on command. “I think of something really sad,” she said, though she also has her own technique leading up to shooting emotional scenes. “I try not to sleep much the days before,” she revealed. “The more tired I am, the easier it is to cry.”
Tom Holland, meanwhile, mentioned how he no longer needs past experiences to help him cry during scenes. The Spider-Man: No Way Home actor learned a breathing technique from Avengers: Infinity War co-star Benedict Cumberbatch, where he mimicked laughter to trigger tears. “I started doing that, and I love crying scenes now,” he said, noting that it has become something he feels confident in.
One of the most famous instances of an actor crying on cue is from Henry Thomas, who played Elliot in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. During his audition, the nine-year-old actor cried on the spot, impressing director Steven Spielberg so much that he was immediately offered the role. “I was blown away by this nine-year-old,” Spielberg said in a 1982 interview.
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