While cue cards may have a bad reputation in the acting world, they are much more than a crutch for the forgetful. Believe it or not, these off-camera reminders are the backbone of some of TV’s most iconic shows, like “Saturday Night Live,” and can even help actors fully immerse themselves in a scene.
Want to learn more? Here, we break down what cue cards are and how performers can use them to their advantage.
Cue cards are notes held or placed off camera to remind a performer what they have to say in a scene. They first gained popularity with the advent of sound films in the 1920s, when screen stars suddenly needed to memorize lines. The technique really flourished in TV—particularly on variety and late-night talk shows—thanks to CBS page Barney McNulty, who created cards for aging actor Ed Wynn in 1949.
How do actors use cue cards?
An actor should ideally use cue cards as an aide and only when absolutely necessary, not as a complete substitution for memorizing lines. Even then, it must be done in a way that doesn’t distract scene partners and can’t be detected by the viewer. You still need to understand your character, the motivations of the scene, and the intent behind your words.
Cue card examples
“Saturday Night Live”
Cue cards are vital to how this legendary sketch series operates. The process allows “SNL” to book A-list guests whose schedules don’t allow them to get fully off-book before the show airs. They also act as guide rails—this is live TV, after all—and are often turned into recurring bits themselves. For example, writer and comedian John Mulaney would often change the jokes at the last minute for Bill Hader’s Stefon in an attempt to get Hader to break, which itself became a staple of the character.
Reese Witherspoon’s 3-Step Process for Memorizing Lines Quickly Sean Bean
Boromir’s declaration in “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” that “one does not simply walk into Mordor” has transcended the film and achieved meme status. In 2020, director Peter Jackson revealed that the speech was written so last minute that Bean had to tape the dialogue to his own knee. “If you watch the scene now, you’ll see every time that Sean has to check the script, he [puts his head down],” Jackson said.
Marlon Brando
One of the greatest film actors of all time (if not the greatest) became a notorious user of cue cards. For his Oscar-winning performance in Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather,” Brando even had his lines taped to costars like Robert Duvall. Some may argue this is because he grew more reluctant to “do the work,” but Brando claimed the cards helped him bring spontaneity to his performances. He could focus on his character and let his own lines surprise him.
He explained, “In ordinary life, people seldom know exactly what they’re going to say when they open their mouths and start to express a thought.”
Evolving scripts: Shooting a film or TV show is a fast-paced process, and occasionally a rewrite will come in just hours (or minutes) before cameras roll. In this case, actors might need an occasional offscreen reminder. This’ll save time (and money) compared to constantly stopping to ask “Line?”
Auditions: In the age of the self-tape, cue cards can be a lifesaver. If you’re an auditioning actor, you’re likely burning through self-tapes day after day; memorizing pages and pages of dialogue just may not be possible. Enlisting a friend (or a piece of tape) to keep your lines just off camera can help you capture the best performance possible each time.
Process: As Brando attested, some actors view cue cards as an instrumental tool in their performing process. Although it may seem paradoxical, cards can allow them to immerse themselves in a scene, thinking about the interiority of their character rather than what they have to say next. Just make sure your cast mates, crew, and creative team are OK with it. If your cue card usage becomes a distraction, it’s time to bust out those line memorization skills.