“If you can make me laugh in the next ten minutes, you win,” he replies. “Good luck with that. I haven’t laughed since before I joined the Protectors. Time starts… now.”
So this is a challenge, but it’s a challenge you’re trained for. Acting is all about getting emotional responses, after all.
Well, usually you aren’t trying to impact a specific person. Generally it’s more like playing to the crowd and if you do well, enough of them will give you the response you’re hoping for. You don’t think something that works well for a general audience is going to get past his guard.
So you need to start by thinking about what you know of him. You’re pretty sure he does want company, despite his protests to the contrary. You know he’s pretty cynical. He has told a few jokes at your expense, but he wasn’t laughing.
He didn’t even laugh when you hurt yourself dodging him, which you’re sure must have looked hilarious. So, you doubt slapstick is going to work here. He doesn’t seem to have a response to successfully hitting you either – as he said, he’s not one for gloating.
Wait. You know a real easy way to get laughs going. You crack a smile behind your mask, and then you laugh as hard as you can. It shouldn’t take ten minutes for him to involuntarily follow suit.
He responds by closing his eyes and covering his ears. So he’s not going to be passive here. But this is also a sign that you’re getting somewhere. He must be worried it’s going to work.
Well, then you’ll just have to adjust your approach a bit.