Basic Trope: A character (mostly an actor) ends up forgetting who they are.
- Straight: Bob plays Emperor Evulz, but he begins to act like his character even off the set.
- Exaggerated:
- Bob becomes the villainous character he played in the movies.
- Everyone who played a part in the movie "The Chronicles of Troperman" believe that they are their characters.
- Downplayed:
- Bob thinks he's Emperor Evulz, In Name Only, but still acts like Bob.
- Bob deliberately stays in character off set because it enhances his confidence, but he mostly maintains his grasp on reality.
- Justified:
- Bob is a method actor and that is how he gets into character.
- Bob tries to improve his acting talent by taking illicit drugs, which make him believe he's Emperor Evulz.
- Bob is mentally ill. Reality and fiction blend together to him.
- Inverted:
- A character believes himself to be merely an actor.
- Everyone believes Bob to be Emperor Evulz, despite insisting not to be.
- Subverted: Bob acts like Emperor Evulz off the set, but he was just practicing his lines, and immediately goes back to acting like Bob.
- Double Subverted: But that was just an act. Bob really believes he's Emperor Evulz, who must pretend to be Bob in order to keep his cover.
- Parodied:
- Bob, Alice, Charlie and Dean all get lost in character, and fight across the city in mimicry of the movie they're shooting.
- Bob is playing the role of Captain Troper and actually gains superpowers.
- Zig Zagged: ...Except it was a publicity stunt, only it turns out the actors really do believe they're the characters, or is it still a publicity stunt?
- Averted: Bob is only the character on the screen, but acts normal everywhere else.
- Enforced: The directors don't tell the actors that they're in a movie and let them really believe they are their characters.
- Lampshaded: This happens so often there's a specialized clinic that Deprograms actors who believe they are their character.
- Invoked: Bob Completely gets into his role, even hypnotizing himself in order to get his best performance.
- Exploited: Alice hates Bob, and gets him the role of the Emperor because then she can goad him into committing a crime.
- Defied: Bob has a Survival Mantra that helps him wind down after acting.
- Discussed: "If we can talk to Bob while he thinks he's the emperor, we may be able to convince him to help us bring down the corrupt director by convincing him he's a rival villain!"
- Conversed: "You'd think an actor who is so easily wrapped up in their role would take precautions against it."
- Implied: A bottle of prescription anti-psychotic drugs can be seen in Bob's dressing room.
- Deconstructed:
- Bob's delusions wind up getting the better of him and he ends up in a mental hospital, in jail or dead.
- Bob's delusions are disturbing his costars and they quit because he's making them uncomfortable. As a result, production is canceled.
- Reconstructed: Bob's friends, loved ones, and colleagues help him keep grasp on reality.
- Plotted A Good Waste: It was all a marketing stunt designed to make people read more about the show.
- Played For Laughs: ???
- Played For Drama: Bob suffers an identity crises once filming wraps up since he was so invested into his role.
Forsooth! My noblest acquaintance, shalt thou not visiteth — sorry, guess I got Lost in Character.
