Leaderboard

This is spot on. He was not what is known as a method actor. In method acting, the actor, relaxes and becomes a kind of blank slate that can experience the emotions of the character they are playing. It's a process, for sure. Wierwille, on the other hand, was more of what would be known as an action based actor. In action based acting, if you want to appear happy, you smile. If you want to appear sad, you frown, and so on. You don't need to actually experience the emotions you are projecting. Wierwille was very good at this and fully aware of what he was doing, without actually experiencing the emotions he was portraying. That's what con artists do. They can't afford the luxury of experiencing the emotions of their marks.

One second to mourn Two seconds to celebrate Standard practice in TWI is that emotions are not real. Leadership often bragged about this skill of transition, showing it off. I would interpret your description as VPW did not feel what others feel. That does lend to acting, because there was no transition between emotions to feel. I would question his sanity, though, and how much he knew about what he did.