If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.
Inside the ‘90s Nickelodeon acting method including 'The Cannon Take', as told by Clarissa Explains It All’s Melissa Joan Hart
Nickelodeon had a special acting method for their child performers, which was known as ‘the cannon take’
Popverse's top stories
- Why The Conjuring is Hollywood's most conservative horror movie franchise
- Simon Kinberg on writing X-Men movies, producing Glenn Powell's The Running Man remake, and co-creating Star Wars Rebels [Popversations]
- Netflix's Stranger Things season 5 culmination of the Hopper & Joyce storyline is "very big" says David Harbour
If you grew up watching ‘90s era Nickelodeon sitcoms, then you know those teenagers had a lot of energy. Shows like Salute Your Shorts, Clarissa Explains It All, and My Brother and Me were fast paced, even in comparison to other sitcoms. The child actors always seemed like they were on a sugar rush, with every performance being pushed to the loudest level possible.
According to Clarissa Explains It All lead actress Melissa Joan Hart, this was by design. “I watch Clarissa and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and I feel like I watch myself and go, ‘Oh, I could’ve tried a little harder.’ But it was hard at that age to survive it day after day,” Hart says during a panel at Tampa Bay Comic Convention.
“To go through it and kind of have that sort of energy. At Nickelodeon we had to have the energy. They would call it 'The Cannon Take.' We would do one take, and the energy we had to use on Nickelodeon was out of this world. A lot of people don’t like these Nickelodeon and Disney actors because they’ll say that they’re ridiculously over the top, but we were trained that way.”
“Theater is kind of the same, where you want to project to the back of the room. And then you get to more dramatic stuff, tighter close-ups, and then it should be a little smaller. Like if you watch God’s Not Dead 2, that was really hard for me to take it out of my face and just kind of calm it down, because I feel like take it out of my face and just like calm it down.”
If Nickelodeon has any behind-the-scenes footage of their actors being trained in “the cannon take,” they should release it. Trust us Nickelodeon, your viewers would love to see it.
Want to know what's coming up next in pop culture? Check out Popverse's guides to:
About Tampa Bay Comic Con 2025
Dates
-
Location
Tampa Bay, Florida
United States
Follow Popverse for upcoming event coverage and news
Find out how we conduct our review by reading our review policy
Let Popverse be your tour guide through the wilderness of pop culture
Sign in and let us help you find your new favorite thing.
Comments
Want to join the discussion? Please activate your account first.
Visit Reedpop ID if you need to resend the confirmation email.