Aside from hands, what are your other favorite body language indicators?
I love this question, but I am afraid my answer might be quite boring because the body language indicators that I love vary from actor to actor. Singto, for example, has a lot of little ear movements that I found really incredible to watch in Shadow even if that show ended up fumbling at the end. I really loved the way Furuya Robin tensed his jaw when Sugimoto said some bullshit to him in his office in Episode 4. I love the way View uses her eyes as an emotion and thought indicator for Aylin in 23.5.
gif by @itsallaboutbl
Some actors are eye actors, some are mouth actors, some are forehead, or eyebrow, or full face actors. Sometimes it’s the way an actor sets their shoulders. How they play with tension in their own body, how they hold their breath and release it. How they fight to hold back tears. How Off was breathing during Ten’s panic attack. It’s the way Chris bit his lip when Qian is on the phone with Yuan in Unknown. It’s the way Nanon sets his jaw before Pran goes in for a deeper kiss in Episode 5 of Bad Buddy.
gif by @nick-nellson
I love contrast and conflict, it’s why I’m so obsessed with characters like Kaz Brekker in Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom, for example, because he loves Inej so deeply but he can’t touch her. So I love when a character says one thing but has a body response that tells me another.
gif by @leah-jeffries
When their masks crack for just a second before slipping back on. I watched Philadelphia last night, and was struck so deeply when Andy’s voice broke and Tom Hanks was delivering lines with his voice was thick from holding back a deep and agonizing sob while trying to translate lines about life and living. It’s the way in Black Sails that Toby Stephens’ face falls in realization when Flint kills someone to stop them from shooting Silver, because he knows he’s just shown Silver his weakness. It’s the way light enters and leaves in Komiya Rio’s eyes and smile and posture in Eien no Kinou.
gif by @wanderlust-in-my-soul
TL;DR The body language indicators I enjoy are highly dependent on the actors on my screen.