LIE TO ME, Part II

Okay. Since I now know that two or three of you are actually reading this (Hi, CMB!), I'll dish the goods.

The reason I was bummed for the latter part of the Lie To Me booking involves the actual shooting of my scene.

As I discussed at length a couple years ago, and a bit in the former Lie To Me post as well, co-star roles are less about the acting and more about the plot advancement.

So after two days of hanging around on a shoot that seemed perpetually behind schedule (but aren't they always?), we got to my scene on the third day. I played a videographer who is reluctant to turn over a tape from the wedding because he wants to try to profit from selling it to someone. It was a fine little role, one that I thought I'd nailed at the audition, and I was prepared to have my small but fun moment in the sun as we wound down the third day. "Character" is too strong a word for a 4-line part, but nonetheless, I'd figured one out—a guy who was understated and crafty and quietly steaming at the situation. It got me the part, and I was planning to stay true to my choices for that reason alone—maybe flesh the dude out a little, but generally stick to what had worked.

It was not to be.

We got set up for the scene. The director came in, looked at lighting, looked at getting the shot set. Pretty much ignored me and the other guys in the scene. Did not even introduce himself, which I guess is not that unusual, except I'm used to at least getting a handshake. The first AD put us on some marks, and we got ready to go.

Fine, so far, so good. I don't need to have my hand held.

We do a rehearsal. The director come over, says to me, "no no no no no. Much bigger, much more BLUSTERY. He's waving his arms around. This guy's a tough New Yorker, he's basically losing his temper in this scene....Alllllllright, let's SHOOT IT!"

Now, I know it's my job to take the note and turn on a dime. And I really had no problem with his direction. It was a very different take on the scene, but it was a perfectly reasonable one and I could see how it would go that way. And he's got to make the story work for him, so it's his call.

But I would have liked maybe ONE more rehearsal. Because going from "understated seething guy" to "blustery arm waving guy with an accent" is more than a little pivot. It's a shift. And on camera, the way everything gets magnified, if I don't do it very specifically and precisely, it's going to come out like a bad Pacino impersonation. So I'd have liked a moment to recalibrate.

But there was no moment to be had. We immediately ran through about 8 takes. The new guy landed in my body somewhere around the 4th one and felt pretty good and organic after that. Ahh, but by then we were no longer on my coverage. So my best crack at this dude was during the scenes where the focus was elsewhere; and my most hamhanded attempts at him were the ones where the camera was on me.

I dunno, it might be fine. But it kind of felt like ass. And it reminded me, once again, why I prefer to do roles that get a little talk time with the director instead of these fly-by scenes.

If, when it airs, there's a lot of editing around me (shots of my hands, shots of the extras while I'm talking), now you'll know why.