Overacting

Overacting (also referred to as hamming or mugging) refers to acting that is exaggerated and overblown, usually in the pejorative sense. There are numerous theatrical euphemisms for overacting. "Chewing the scenery" or "scenery chewing" refers to extreme overacting, with the purpose or effect of dominating other performers at the expense of the production. A "ham" refers to an unskilled actor who resorts to overacting, and thus overacting can be called "hamming".