(I want to start this entry by saying thanks for all the congratulatory comments and emails on Nip/Tuck. It means a lot to me.)
Thurs 9/21/06(12:45 pm)As I begin, I'm in my trailer on the Paramount lot, for the first day of my Nip/Tuck gig...
My call was originally 3 pm. Then it was changed to 1:30 (they were ahead of schedule), and then to "How soon can you get here?".
I quickly took Lady out to do her business, then jumped in the shower, got dressed, and drove to the studio on Melrose.
So I got here an hour ago...and haven't done anything.
I did fill out my contract paperwork. Then I had lunch (Shrimp, chicken, fries, a bottled water, and an energy drink), watched I Love Lucy, and now I'm just hanging out, waiting for rehearsal at 1:30.
Turns out, I definitely over-sold the whole "they wanted me for the bigger part" business (but only because that's the way Brett sold it to me); yes, I'm in more scenes than the prison guard part I went in for, but the "Deputy" is still just a bit part. The co-star credit I was "disappointed" about is completely appropriate.
I'm in two scenes where I have a line each time. Then there's another scene where I'm supposed to rush into a room drawing my gun, and I think I'm one of the "guards" who ends up dead later.
So anyway, not exactly a "star turn", but it is experience, credit, free food, and money. And that's all good stuff.
(2:25)
Just got back from rehearsal.
I have one line at the top of the scene ("I'll be outside if you need me..."). Should be easy.
Like with House and Gilmore Girls, my main goal today--and for the rest of my time on this shoot--is to just do my little bit, without any fuss and bother, and not hang anyone up.
The scene I'm in today is with Dylan Walsh and a hispanic actor named Robert LaSardo (There are also two other "background" guards).
If you're a Nip/Tuck fan, I imagine you're excited that I'm in a scene with Dylan Walsh, but I'm actually more stoked about Robert LaSardo (Whom you've seen if you've watched The Shield, NYPD Blue, or just about any other cop show in recent years that's called for a hispanic bad guy).
(5:25)
Back in my trailer, which is basically set up the same as when I did Gilmore Girls (with a tv, dvd player, cd player, microwave and mini-fridge. There's even a shower in the bathroom, should I feel the need to "freshen up").
Fri 9/22/06 (10 am)
(In my trailer on the Paramount lot...)
Call today was at 9:30 am.
I wrapped yesterday at 6:00 pm.
The last thing they did with me was a shot where I'm watching the scene between Dylan Walsh and Robert LaSardo (I've left the room at this point, and am watching the scene from behind glass).
Today's my big "action scene", where I go into a room with another guard with guns drawn, then carry a guy off in an "arm bar".
(Editor's note: They actually had two stunt "guards" carrying the guy off. I just had to rush into the room.)
I'm somewhat nervous about it, but it's not as if they're just going to throw me in front of the camera and make me do it--we'll block it and rehearse it, and work out shots (It's one of only two scenes they're doing today, so they obviously expect it to take some time).
Yesterday was mostly about hanging out, either in my trailer, or on the set.
At one point, to be honest, I was a little envious of the actors who were actually getting to act, and who weren't just on the periphery of the scene. But later I thought, "These little bits I'm doing are probably the only 'on-camera training' I'm gonna get, so maybe it's good that I'm 'cutting my teeth' on them, instead of having to 'carry a scene' my first time out of the gate".
And while the "Actor" in me wants to do more, my inner "Lazy Guy" thinks it's pretty cool that I'm getting paid, and paid really well, to do this.
In non-Nip/Tuck news...
I recently got my second raise at ArcLight, which means I'm now up to a princely $8.25 an hour.
But seriously, I was pleased--that extra 25-cents an hour blunts the impact of this year's rent increase (And besides that, even if it's just another quarter-an-hour, it's nice to be acknowledged).
I'm working at the theater tomorrow and Sunday, but taking Monday and Tuesday off (I'm "on hold" for Nip/Tuck Monday through Wednesday--which means they can call me in if they need to--and I didn't want to screw ArcLight, by having to skip out on them if I get called to the set, or screw myself, by having to close at the theater then getting a 6:00 am Nip/Tuck call the next day).
(And yes, I also wanted to just be an "actor" for the week. Why not?)
It doesn't look like I got the Bahamas Tourism commercial. It doesn't shoot till the middle of next month, but there's no reason they wouldn't have told me if I'd booked it by now, or at least put me "on avail".
(And in the middle of writing that paragraph, my cell phone went off. But it was a false alarm--wrong number).
(Editor's note: When I got home from the set, around 8:30 last night, there was an email from JS--I am "on avail" for the Bahamas Tourism spot.)
I'm probably not going to get a call from Brett or JS for the duration of this shoot; Obviously, I'm tied up on the shoot days, and for the days I'm "on hold", the same logic as with ArcLight applies (They wouldn't want to set up an audition for me, then have to cancel if I get called to the set).
That's about the only "down side" to this experience I can think of.
(1:05)
Back in my trailer...
Rehearsed the scene we're doing, and now I'm on my lunch break (Chicken, noodles, garlic bread, and an illicit Diet Coke).
I've been thinking about my "status" (for lack of a better term) the past couple days...
Financially, this gig doesn't mean I'm "rolling in dough", but it does mean the next number of months should be pretty stress-free, in terms of paying the bills.
(And it's nice to consider that, at some future point, I'll be getting residuals for both this and Gilmore Girls.)
Speaking of GG, that's this coming Tuesday.
Small as these things are, I'm hoping this little bit of "visibility" will help me somehow (Brett recently said I have such a recognizable face that I'll be noticed in smaller things sooner than a lot of other actors might be. Hope he's right).
I imagine three co-star credits will help me (It certainly beats not having three co-star credits), though I have no idea how many co-star credits it takes before you start getting a crack at "guest-star" roles. And that feels like the next logical "goal" here.
I know that in terms of "status" in my own little Diaryland/ArcLight/ACG world, I like having booked these things. I very much like being perceived as "successful", or at least in the process of becoming successful.
Yesterday was a long day; in addition to all the business of the guards rushing into an operating room and hauling a guy out, they had to work out the surgery itself (A very involved process, dealing with a guy with a burnt-up face and a number of cosmetic implants).
The scene yesterday was with both lead guys (Dylan Walsh and Julian McMahon), along with Joey Slotnick (Who was on Boston Public), and Robert Lasardo.
Julian McMahon and Joey Slotnick both introduced themselves, which I thought was nice.
At one point in the afternoon, there was an ice-cream truck parked by the set.
I thought, "Well, that's a fun 'craft services' thing...", but it turned out McMahon had bought it for the cast and crew (He was also the set cut-up, actually having to be "shushed" by the director at one point).
Anyway, it was a good couple days. And the nice thing, this time out, is that I get to do it all over again next week!
But now, I have to get dressed and head out--My friend Logan is starting his own recording studio, and today is the "Grand Opening". And I told him I'd "drop by" before work tonite.
See ya later...
