Actor Growth

I got an interesting call from the agency saying that the production Fringe was looking for people to do a shoot that involves the performer having to go though some things that can be physically demanding where it can take a toll on one’s body. While this is technically classified as background work still, unless for some reason it is going to be integral to the scene, the pay scale is going to be pretty decent to accommodate the demand.

It just made me think a bit on whether or not things like these are worth it at times. Actually, I would be more enthusiastic about this if it was classified as a principal or stunt role as in many ways it’s almost like a stunt considering what you may have to potentially do. For me it is definitely not about the money but rather thinking if the opportunity will help me to get further ahead in my career.

Although, I must admit that one way I have gained opportunities is that I did things that no one else wanted to do and so that naturally opened up more doors for other projects. Another reason I was thinking on whether or not I wanted to do it is that the next day after I have to act in a film as the lead which is supposed to start in the morning. I was told that this work on Fringe could potentially be an all nighter.

For the time being I said that I will be willing to do it as I don’t know if this is a sure thing anyways.

Haven’t worked on this show since the pilot. Today was a doozy too as it was filmed outside in the scorching sun and I would say a good half of us got some kind of sun burn or sun tan by working on this set. The keyword for me working on this set was network circle I thought.

It was so interesting that this is kind of the first day I worked on a set where I knew someone personally in most of the departments through my acting journey thus far. For example, a production assistant that was working on set happened to be the sound person for a volunteer film where I was acting in where his friend and himself was making. One of the actors who is playing a frequently occurring role in this series is a person I know from doing background work. The list went on.

That definitely showed how small of a world it is and in many ways it’s reassuring too that the work and connections I have made from the past definitely do come back up in my future endeavors. There was one funny moment during the day where the lead actor Eric Stoltz flipped us while the camera was rolling. Basically, he was off camera and in the scene we were all suppose to be super mad. So as a joke while we were still yelling and all he decided to do that. A lot of people almost broke character too because of that which was hilarious.

Just got a call recently from my agent asking if I wanted to work on the TV show Fringe and I agreed. I always thought this show was shot in the US and so it was kind of surprising to me that it is shooting here in Vancouver.

I must admit, I have no clue what the show is about as I don’t follow the series and just read a bit about it online. Apparently this is the first episode of the second season that they are shooting and I’ll be on set tomorrow for this.

Today I received a surprising e-mail from my old agent. She simply sent an e-mail to everyone that worked on the upcoming pilot show of Caprica to let us know that it was a straight to DVD release coming out on April 21st. It is suppose to be a spin off of the Battlestar Galactica series.

I do remember her being a huge sci-fi fan so I guess this was one reason why she sent it to everyone. This straight to DVD release kind of made more sense to me now as when I was working on that show there were a ton of naked women in the scene. I was just thinking too that day how they could get away with that on cable TV and they did mention DVD sales.

Funny thing is shortly after I read that e-mail apparently the show has been leaked everywhere on the Internet. Guess die hard fans have probably seen everything already. I remember one scene I was in where the actress Magda Apanowicz, plays a character named lucy, who pushed me pretty aggressively since the context of the scene was a chaotic atmosphere. Don’t think that scene made the final cut though as they took more takes after that and that would have probably constituted as an upgrade for me.

Although, afterwards between a different take she was yelling on the balcony to me saying how I was her favorite. People sure have a funny way of showing it. lol

The plot seemed super confusing to me though since I only know the chunk of it based on the days I worked on it. Maybe I’ll check it out.

Wow, I actually did this one awhile ago and I was recognized in it. It was in episode 16 which was called something like “Greg Schmeg”. It was pretty quick though which you can see here:

This was supposed to be just background work and was the episode where I was yanked out of the crowd to do something specific as a groggy/upset customer. It’s always interesting to see everything being made and then compare it to what the final output is on screen. For example, reflecting back they actually did a close up on me and all for that scene which as apparent didn’t make it into the final cut.

I know one guy that really wanted to work on that show as he mentioned that production treats the staff and talent very well compared to others. It’s been the only set I have been on so far where regular background extras got breakfast if they wanted to if that says anything.

This the closest thing I have done in terms of normally just being a background performer and then possibly getting “upgraded” as they call it. Think of an upgrade like an on the spot promotion in a sports event. Example, it could be that you were normally a replacement bench player but now that someone is injured you are promoted on the spot to say play with the starting lineup.

Upgrades are extremely rare and so I personally never do this type of work expecting it to happen. Was a fun experience though.

Alrighty, so the agent told me that the production decided to use me for The L Word tomorrow.  According to the breakdown, it I suppose to be around the Burnaby City Area.  I still haven’t received the call time though and sometimes they come as late as 11pm at night.

That’s one thing about doing background work where if you say you are available to do it then you have to pretty much make sure that you have the whole day available.  You never know when or how long it will last as this isn’t exactly like a 9 to 5 job.