act her way out of a paper bag

A twist on that, where an actress is forced contractually to take on a role that she really objects to playing. So she goes through it resolving to do a kamikase protest--does the most outrageous performing she can imagine--doing emotive nonsense readings of the words, monotone, atonal, screechy, sheer buffoonery. And of course she steals the movie and becomes an international sensation.