all of my maps have been overthrown

I put on Miles Sklar’s suit and attitude today for my part of a three page scene where I got to be a serious douchebag. We did a lot of takes on the scene, and over the course of six hours I noticed that it’s equally easy for me to commit to being a kind, sensitive, vulnerable person as it is for me to commit to being a complete and total douche. The thing is . . . playing a douche is really a lot more fun.

The camera was pretty far away from me, on a long lens, and the director was watching feeds from two cameras in video village while we shot, so I didn’t get any direct feedback between takes. There was a time when this would have made me feel like I was doing something wrong, but I’ve done this enough now to know that if they’re not telling me to do something different, then whatever I’m doing is making them happy.

After we finished the master, a couple of tighter overs, and my close up, the director walked over to me. Background actors headed out of the set, camera dollies were moved around us, and assistant directors talked to each other on their walkies.

He had a big smile on his face when he arrived, and he told me how happy he was with my work. He singled out a couple of acting choices I’d made, and talked at length about how much he liked them. He said, more than once, that I was doing a great job bringing this character to life.

The thing is, directors just don’t do this when you’re working in television. They usually don’t have time to chat with the actors between setups, and they just don’t bother praising us, because if we’re not fucking up royally, we’re doing the job we were hired to do.

So it meant a lot to me that he made the effort to single out some of the choices I made. He didn’t have to do that, and it was an incredibly kind thing to do.

Later in the day, I met one of the writers from the show, who is as big a geek as I am. He even reads my blog! We talked about how cool the set was (they’ve built a scale model of Comic-Con, with a level of detail that should win an Emmy, or at least a Nerdy) and geeked out at each other about the comics we love. It turns out that he convinced the executives to do this episode by showing them Planetary, among other books. How awesome is that?

Tomorrow is my last day. I move from the convention to the interrogation room, and I get to work with Rob Morrow, which should be pretty awesome. Goddamn, I am having so much fun on this show.

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40 thoughts on “all of my maps have been overthrown”

  1. hey man, I’m glad you’re having such a great time.. The enthusiasm is going to make your character even better. Have a great day 3…
    p.s. I’ve been writing a book and chapter 2 is about your influence over my work.. keep inspiring man

  2. I’m so glad you’re having so much fun! You have to make sure you let us know when this episode will air so we can all watch it! 🙂

  3. Glad you’re having fun. I can’t wait to see the episode. You’ve been stressing out a bit with the paypal issues lately. Hope things smooth out for you soon. Have a good last day tomorrow!

  5. Sound like you’re really enjoying your acting job. And your blog has fans everywhere!
    Thanks for the behind the scenes peek. And thanks for those photos. I love the fact that you have such nice write-ups for each photo. And those tags on the backpack one was cool. I didn’t know you could do that.
    Isn’t it interesting all the “geek” shows that are on network tv this season? Not only Numb3rs, but Heroes, Chuck and “it’s not scifi” Lost. The really scifi Journeyman, Bionic Woman and Smallville. Supernatural shows like Ghost Whisperer, Pushing Daisies, and the aptly named Supernatural.
    Even the various CSI shows have enough tech in them to warm a geek’s heart.
    It’s great to see these shows make the mainstream networks.

  6. That sounds great, Wil!
    So is this going to be a recurring douchebag or just a one-time thing?
    Man, I would freak the fuck out meeting Rob Morrow. Northern Exposure was such a great show (until he left the show), and so is Numb3rs!

  7. Sounds amazing. I can’t wait to see the ep.
    I know what you mean about playing a douchebag. I don’t act professionally — just local theater for fun — but I always have more fun in the bitchy roles.

  8. Seems like a very lively set! How well-populated was Virtual Con? (on a scale of 1-10, with San Diego a “10” and Spinal Tap’s “Smell The Glove” signing at “1”)

  10. I don’t normally watch Numb3rs. I hope it’s safe to assume that when your episode is coming on, you’ll announce it loud and often. 🙂 Can’t wait to see it!

  11. I’ll repost because 1. that other post of Wil’s is up to 234 comments so mine is lost somewhere in the middle, and 2. he might not “officially” be able to say so –
    according to this article in popcandy the EPISODE WILL AIR ON NOVEMBER 23rd!
    Wil – glad to hear you’re having so much fun! Congrats on being able to do so many things that you love.

  12. When you’re working on a TV show, which presumably has a higher proportion of… ahem… “less experienced” acting professionals compared to working on films, do you ever get stuff like “Hey! You were the guy from {Star Trek|Stand By Me|whatever}! What have you been doing since then?” or is there some professional courtesy among thespians to avoid such a faux pas?

  13. I am an engineer and theatre enthusiast. I get to photograph the actors (I also cook for them. It’s all part of the package at Shakespeare Santa Cruz), but I don’t have the balls to get on stage.
    Tonight, I started season 3 of my giant Borg cube of STNG and re-read the awesome writing you did about getting this gig for about the 10th time.
    Way to go, man, and thanks for sharing the joy of the experience with all of us.

  14. Glad you’re having a great time. You’re in good company with the guest actor spot… the newest episode of Bones had Denise Crosby aka “Tasha Yar” playing the wife of the victim.

  16. background just wrapped about an hour ago from this post. a bit of irony for me is i did go to comic con (and defcon) this year. it was a great experience working on this production as an extra for a few days.
    it was awesome getting a bird’s eye perspective and you certainly did a great job. you know your stuff and delivered on the spot. no wonder the director commended you. congrats and have a great day tomorrow on set!
    a tech enthusiast and fan,
    jon

  17. Congrats, Wil-
    I’m sure after the PayPal stuff it’s nice to have a little change and work on something that’s going more smoothly! Sounds like this is a particularly rewarding acting job. Keep up the good work…you know we all support you.

  19. with a level of detail that should win an Emmy, or at least a Nerdy
    You know, if there was such thing as the Nerdy Awards, Id definitely watch them. And pay attention (unlike the CMA’s and the Oscars, which I read through).
    Cant wait for the episode!

  20. BRILLIANT! I love that they’re all big geeks – I’d think you kind of would have to be, for a show as geeky as Numb3rs. Can’t wait to see the episode, I’m all intrigued now!

  24. Congrats, Wil!!!
    Can’t they use you on Heroes? I think that would be awesome….not sure what power or ability you’d have. The “accessing computers without a connection/technology” has already been taken by a chick.
    My husband swears you were on a CSI episode. I thought I’d seen most if not all, and I don’t remember seeing you. Were you?? (too lazy to look up on imdb)

  25. Thanks for sharing your pics of the set on Flickr! The set looks awesome and it’s clear that everyone involved is interested in it being authentic. And that means a lot in my opinion. I’m really excited to check out Numb3rs not just because you’re going to be on the show but it sounds like the people involved behind the scenes are top notch and fantastic.
    I’m so glad you’re having a good time! It’s fun to hear you’re happy and having a blast. 🙂 It’s also fun to hear how you’ve acheived this zen like attitude towards auditions and acting. Very cool.
    Cheers!

  27. If those are your only scenes I guess you didn’t kill anybody. Come on, there’s so many imaginary TV procedural victims out there, cant you pop one? If you need tips, GTA games are full of instructions for murder.

  28. One scene today, where I get booed by angry nerds. It’s 1987 again!
    You are one of the few people that can properly channel such a memory. Proof positive that no experience in life is totally useless.

  31. I tried commenting yesterday on the “You Are My Face” quote but TypeKey thwarted me. That song’s one of my favorites from Sky Blue Sky, particularly that part of the song.
    BTW, Wilco taped an episode of Austin City Limits when they were here in September for the ACL Festival (This is crappy digital camera video, but “Impossible Germany” as the sun set was amazing). The episode airs one week from tomorrow, Nov. 3 on your local PBS affiliate. Arcade Fire is the following week.

  32. This is sooo awesome! Can’t wait for the episode to air, but at least in between we have your stories to sustain us until then.
    WHY isn’t there a Nerdy? Maybe if we start handing out shiny things, they’ll make an effort to gives us good nerdy stuff.
    A smell a project!

  33. Your enthusiasm leaps off the screen.
    Here’s hoping that you book enough acting jobs to have this feeling/experience more often, but not enough to change the order of writer-slash-actor.

  34. . . . maybe one of the other comments ask this, but would you please let us know the date your show is going to air? i don’t watch numb3rs (or however you spell it 🙂 but oh how i’d like to watch it when you do your thing! 🙂 so glad for you on so many levels . . .

  36. Rob Morrow is cool.
    That director sounds like he’s probably someone who is good to his friends and family, and appreciates the gifts of others. His soul is probably in a good place.

  40. I saw the Numb3rs episode on November 24th!
    I was hanging out with my family for Thanksgiving and I saw the show come on (I don’t normally watch Numb3rs) and I got all excited because I knew it was the episode you were in.
    I got strange looks when I told them I wanted to watch the show becuase you were in it — and then I explained I read your blog and their strange looks continued…(parents aren’t quite hip to the blog thing yet)
    They remember me being 10-17 years old watching Star Trek: Next Generation every week and swooning over your character and Picard.
    I was a fan then, and I’m even more of a fan now through your writing.

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