Criminal Minds: The Audition

This is the first of five posts about working on episode four, Paradise, during season four of Criminal Minds. I spoke with CliqueClack.com about some of my production experiences, and I have a gallery of images from the shoot at Flickr. Please note that I’ve done my best to recreate my interactions with the cast and crew, but this isn’t a perfect, literal translation of the entire experience.

Working on Criminal Minds was one of the greatest experiences of my professional life. Over the next couple of days, I’m going to publish a series of posts here, in which I will attempt to document, as accurately and thoroughly as possible, what it was like to work on the show. I will begin with the audition.

I wrote a little bit about my audition right after it happened:

When I was in the room, I didn’t think about the people there, I didn’t think about what was at stake (directly or indirectly) and I just focused on the person I was reading with. I didn’t do anything fancy, just gave them my simple-but-deliberate take on this guy.

I felt better than I felt after I sucked out loud last week. I didn’t know if I nailed it, but I’d made my deliberate-but-risky choices, and I’d committed to them entirely. Whether I got the job or not, at least I had that to take home with me and keep in a box on the shelf for the weekend.

A few hours after I got home, my manager called me.

“Well, I have some feedback,” he said.

“That was fast,” I said.

“Yeah, I guess they wanted you to know right away that you’re hired.”

“Really?!” I said. I always say that, even though I know that my manager is never going to call me up, tell me a got a job, and then say, “Ha! PSYKE!”

“Yes, really.” He said.

Now that the show has aired, I can talk more specifically about the audition process. I prepared two scenes, the scene with Hotch where I totally fool him into thinking I’m just a normal, non-killing kinda guy who owns a spooky motel, and a scene where I’m about to do very bad things to Abby.

The audition was in a one room trailer at Quixote studios in Glendale. It was probably 30 by 50 feet, with several conference tables arranged around three sides. The writers, producers, casting people and the director were all behind one of them. The size of the room could have made it very intimidating, but everyone in it was friendly and welcoming as soon as I walked in. I should note that auditions are not as frequently like this as you’d think.

The audition scenes were very short and fairly simple, and I’d been able to memorize them[1]. After I said hello to everyone, I put my sides in my pocket, and began the first of the two scenes. They weren’t taping the audition, so I was free to move around and, as they say, “use the space” as much as I wanted.

In the first scene, I was friendly, I was concerned about these two people, and I made a genuine effort to be helpful, because that’s what I figured this guy would do if he was interviewed by an FBI agent. I felt the scene went well, and my Spidey sense told me that the other people in the room were pleased.

We moved to the second scene, where I do Very Bad Things to Abby. It was different in the audition draft of the script than what we eventually filmed, but the essence of the scene was the same. I was cruel, I was sadistic, and I enjoyed her suffering.

There was much less dialog in the second scene than there was in the first. I think it was just under a page and a half. I figured that this scene would really live in the gaps between the words, so I took my time when I performed it, and didn’t rush my reactions. Because I didn’t have the sides in my hands, I could move around a little bit, and I could be physically menacing.

There was one exchange where I ask her, “Are you ready?” and she doesn’t respond, so I ask her again, a little more forcefully. When we got to that part of the scene, I looked at Erica, the casting associate who was reading with me, and asked her the question. In my mind, I was planning some very awful things. I mean, I was disturbingly committed to this character. I could see the things I was planning to do. I could feel the excitement and satisfaction. It really lived in me, and I could tell that it made her uncomfortable. As Floyd, I enjoyed the hell out of that. It turned Floyd on. When she didn’t answer, I took a couple of steps toward her, crouched down close to her, and leaned in, so she was forced to look at me. This was an incredibly risky thing to do, because it nearly broke an unwritten rule about auditions: actors can interact with casting, but only to a point. But at that moment, I had let Floyd take over me.

“Are. You. Ready?” I said, Floyd’s pure evil flowing freely through me. She shook her head, and I saw tears forming in her eyes. As Floyd, that was awesome. I forget precisely how I reacted to it, but I let the moment linger, and then the scene was over.

“Very nice,” said Scott David, who is the casting director (and, coincidentally, one of my favorite casting people in the industry. He’s up there with Tony Sepulveda.)

Scott turned to the director, John Gallager, and said, “Would you like to see anything else?”

“No,” he said, “but why don’t you tell Erica something nice about yourself?”

The entire room laughed, like a huge release of tension. I was thrilled that I’d been able to create that moment. I smiled at her and said, “I’m really a nice guy! I’m a total geek, I have two kids, and I’d never hurt anyone, especially you.”

She blinked back tears and joined in the laughter.

I thanked everyone in the room, and Erica walked me out. As soon as the door closed, I said “I’m really sorry. I couldn’t have done that if you hadn’t given me so much to work with.”

“Don’t be!” She said. “Thank you!”

I walked back to my car. I felt good. I felt satisfied. My job as an actor is to go into that room and make an impression. I was pretty confident that I’d done that, and that the impression wasn’t “oh man, Wil Wheaton sucks!”

On the way home, I deconstructed the experience. I owe a great deal of gratitude to my friend David Lawrence for inspiring me to take such a big creative risk in the audition. David Lawrence is playing Eric Doyle on Heroes this season. He plays a very creepy, very evil, very bad man. Kind of like the character I played on Criminal Minds, maybe without the raping and torturing.

David had his Heroes audition right before I had my Criminal Minds audition. David and I rarely talk shop about acting, but when someone you know is on a show like Heroes, you kind of want to know how it all went down, you know? He told me how he created a very lucid reality in his head for his reading. He’d seen and felt what it was like to control people, and let that inspire and guide him through his audition. I thought about that level of total commitment a lot while I prepared my Criminal Minds audition. When I saw that I wouldn’t be stuck in the obligatory audition chair or tied to my sides for the reading, I decided to commit to the role completely, physically and emotionally, in ways that usually aren’t possible in auditions. I took a huge creative risk, and it paid off.

I’ve written extensively about how I believe actors have to find a way to enjoy themselves whether they book the job or not. I guess it’s kind of twisted to say that I enjoyed myself by being such an evil man, but committing to something completely, and refusing to look back until it was all over, was tremendously satisfying.

I would soon find out that I had the job before the door had closed behind me.

Awesome.

Next: The Read Through.

[1] We call this being “off-book” and though it’s not required, I prefer to be as off-book as possible when I audition, so I can make lots of eye contact and give something that’s closer to a performance than a reading. Sometimes, though, this just isn’t possible because there’s a lot of material or real life doesn’t give me enough time to rehearse it enough to feel like I can do it without referring to the sides. It can also really suck if I’m reading with someone who isn’t giving me anything to work off of, so even when I am off-book, I usually keep my sides in my hand.

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80 thoughts on “Criminal Minds: The Audition”

  1. Awesome is right.
    You were great. I hated the character… which was so surprising cause I love the Wil I read about here.
    And I was right you don’t, and can’t, suck!
    *smiles*

  2. Wil, this was just a great performance. As with N3mbers,this was not a show that I had ever watched before. You were so …. ON.
    I think thats the best way to describe it. You were really well invested, and it was obvious.
    Congrats!

  3. Gyah. Yeah, that darkness you talk about with Erica the casting associate? I felt that in the show. It was pretty palpable.
    Can’t wait to read the rest of the story, which I must say is much better than William “Why Do You Look Like an Older, Beaten Up Captain Mal?” Mapother.

  5. Hi Wil:
    Man, you totally creeped me out… not because you were overtly creepy, but because you weren’t! There was the first scene with you as the “good hotel guy”… and then there was the scene with you as the “I’m gonna get medieval on your ass” guy.
    Wil, you have grown so much as an actor in the past few years… I have been a faithful viewer through “Walter the crazy guy” on CSI and then the comic guy -SOB – on NUMB3RS.
    It seemed to be effortless for you. I really wish you could get a regular character (maybe once a month) on a series that would allow you to carry on writing (your destiny) and allow you to create neat characters as an actor (your love). Hmmm… Maybe something on “Dexter”…
    cheers,
    Les

  6. Awww, I didn’t get to see the whole show. I saw the last five minutes of it. I just got home. Oh, well… there’s always YouTube! 🙂 But I have to say that evil… really kinda suits you, in a way. You looked really hot! Great job, Wil!

  7. Yes you were creepy which means you did a good job.
    I agree with Les, go do it again, and again, and again.
    My advice, and I’ve said it before, get in really good shape, it helps.
    Good going man,
    Mark.

  9. Wil you did a great job contrasting the two sides starting out as a nice and helpful motel/cabin owner. Then there is the moment of suspense where you are not exactly sure who it is and Bam!! There you are all evil and scary. You did a great job keep it up hope to see you on future tv shows like this

  11. Ugh – what a creep. You were terrific!
    There’s a reason I don’t watch all these crime shows, though. This was the first time I’d watched this one. Two great actors – Joe Mantegna and Thomas Gibson, but this type of show just doesn’t do it for me. I remember years ago watching Mad Max, who’s violence would probably seem mild now, and thinking to myself, “What a brilliant piece of film making, but why did I put myself through that?” Anyway, great work. Now book a guest shot on Pushing Daisies show I can enjoy the rest of the show.
    19/300

  12. I just have to tell you that your twitters make my day. I was having THE worst day ever yesterday and you had a tweet that was the Ubu Productions tagline and I laughed so hard.
    so thanks and you are seriously made of awesome. don’t EVER change.
    @cricketlee

  14. Oh my gosh. i was just listening to music on my computer and my mom and her boyfriend and my brother were watching Criminal Minds and they all know that i love Wil Wheaton and all of a suddon my bro says, “hey Lacy, theres Wil Wheaton” i immediately threw off my headphones and watched the episode. and yes your character was creepy but you did a very good job! i loved it!

  17. Oh my gosh. i was just listening to music on my computer and my mom and her boyfriend and my brother were watching Criminal Minds and they all know that i love Wil Wheaton and all of a suddon my bro says, “hey Lacy, theres Wil Wheaton” i immediately threw off my headphones and watched the episode. and yes your character was creepy but you did a very good job! i loved it!

  19. I loved hating your character in this episode. The “face plant” with the semi was a nice touch. Just out of curiosity, did you do your own stunts for this? 🙂

  20. Wow…you so did not suck! That was a great episode and you rocked it. I was sad you didn’t have more screen time but it also made it creepier. Less really is more…like the shark in Jaws. Just knowing he’s out there…waiting. Well done, you scared the piss out of me.

  21. So, I’m apparently an idiot and missed it tonight. I’ll watch it online as soon as it’s available.
    But I love the production diary, and I’m very much looking forward to reading the rest of them. Brings my theatre days back to me (and makes me wish I went out and auditioned more!)

  23. Wil, you were awesome! (Especially the scene right after convincing Hotch you’re a swell guy – that look in your eyes was chilling and *really* uncomfortable.)
    *high five*

  24. I’d like to say that you totally scared the heck outta me. You were phenomenal! For the record, I NEVER get creeped out because I KNOW it’s just a show however, your transformation from nice dude to evil “I get off on other people’s pain” was waaaay too convincing.
    I read your blog and enjoy your tweets … I know you’re a pretty swell person. I’m still sending you my therapy bill!

  26. Just saw the shoe (hurray DVR!) and I was extremely impressed! Always been a fan of your work, but wow, this is probably the (acting) best work I have seen from you in a long time. Not to take away from your other roles…is it possible that you can you act a no-hitter? That’s what it was like watching.
    I was actually a little terrified. Not at the show as much, but before you were even on screen there was so much tension building. How was the character going to match up to the terror? I’m more familiar with Wil the blogger these days than I am Wil the actor. Wil the blogger is working on projects and likely salivating over the Fallout 3 release. I honestly didn’t know how you were going to pull it off.
    You didn’t pull it off…pulling it off is getting away with something. You nailed it, just a rock solid, committed performance with no hint of Wil Wheaton. Just the character and nothing but. Really, really proud of your work there and look forward to hearing more from the production diary.

  29. Great job on criminal Minds. I have never seen the show, but I tuned in to see you. I didn’t feel like I was watching Wil Wheaton acting. I felt like you were Floyd for an hour. Good luck on future auditions. I want to see you on some more shows!
    Goodnight Wil and family and all Wheaton fans.

  30. Hey Wil, the show’s on right now in Seattle, I stayed up to see you and you have not disappointed, this is your creepiest character yet, excellent job!!! I just had to tell you that before I crashed. 🙂 I hope I can go to sleep.

  31. Criminal Minds is not my cup of tea.
    It’s very much the type of psychological horror I love to read, but often can’t bear to watch. (I know, it sounds weird, but I can’t get past it most of the time.)
    I managed to watch your scenes.
    Wow. You weren’t you anymore. I believe that character. Impressive. ^_^

  32. I’m watching this episode now. Actually my husband was watching it and I was hanging out on MySpace. I looked up and shouted, “Dude, is that WIL WHEATON?!” OMG, I had the biggest crush on you in junior high. Funny that I recognized you from Stand By Me because I’m not a trekkie. Good for you playing a homicidal maniac! Great job!

  35. Wow, you was awesome, even my husband know’s I’m a huge fan thought you was great…Says you have really came a long way from the dorky kid on star trek and on stand by me that’s a HUGE compliment form him! Good Job! and love the way you die, justice was served in my opinion!

  38. I was completely with you earlier today when you were worried your performance on the show might be sucktastic. I’ve felt the same way before and after reading conference papers and giving other kinds of talks (I’m an academic). But your worries were unfounded.
    You were hawesome tonight, Wil. Like others have said, Wil Wheaton disappeared, and evil creepy Floyd lived in your stead for the most crucial moments of the show. Way to go!

  39. Wow. I was thinking “Ugh I don’t want to watch some couple get tortured” and then BOOM saw your face stare down at her and went “Hmm wonder if this is edgy enough”… Kinda sad you played a bad guy, but you played him very very well-which just goes to show: any geek can become a pyscho stalker at any time. lol…

  40. I already tweeted at you that you were awesome/scary as hell. It’s so impressive you can do something so opposite of yourself. & I thought the CSI episode was scary…geez.
    I second the emmy idea. I wonder if we can start a petition? Like geeks for Wheaton Emmy Campaign. Any other takers?

  41. I got chills reading that. My fiance and I were talking about getting into the mind of characters when we were talking about your performance earlier today. It makes totally giddy to hear you get so much enjoyment out of getting into that mind set. I am the same way when I am doing a role. One of the reason I love acting so much. Because you get to be someone completely different than you are and not get locked up for it. Great mental therapy, at least for me it is. Reading this entry served as a huge reminder how much I do miss it. Hopefully sometime in the near future, I find the time to be able to step into someone else.
    Again, wonderful job. Blew me away and even though I have been a fan of yours for 22 years now (does that date us or what) I am still a very tough critic. Bravo sir!

  42. Hey Wil,
    I watched the episode. Its actually one of my fav. shows. And like everyone else said you were great, of course. But the thing that really struck me, and don’t take this the wrong way, but this is the first time I seen you act that you actually came across as your right age and maturity. (other than Stand By Me). My first thought was “Wow, Wil grew up. He’s a man. ” I know, wierd thought. But in truth I sometimes wondered, because you just looked so young for so long, if you could pull off a ‘grown man’ role. And you absolutely did! It was wonderful. I definitely expect to see more of you on TV. Just don’t let your writing lag behind 😉

  45. Man I was skeptical about you pulling off a creepy guy, but WOW was I wrong. You did a great job and I loved what you did with the character. Bravo. The ending was great too, loved the Irony.. lol
    I also wanted to let you know I enjoy your blog and tweets.
    Keep it up and thank you!

  46. Holy crap Wil, you were incredible on the show tonight. You really did challenge yourself, and you look like you had a lot of fun with the kind of role an actor loves.
    Hope to see more of you on the tube in the near future

  47. Sir, not only were you horribly, skin-crawlingly icky, you were so bad that when we finished the episode my husband turned to me and said, “Can we go look at Cute Overload now? I need some happy.”
    Fantastic job, in other words. I really look forward to the rest of your blogging about the experience, in order to help drive Wicked Bad Naughty Evil Wil out of my brain.

  50. Wil,
    Been a long time reader, even longer time fan of yours, never taken the time to comment until now. Hands down, that was your best.performance.Evar. It was real, you were into it, it wasn’t overdone, it was believable, totally creepy.
    Evil Wheaton FTW!
    Well done my friend! I’m so proud… *tear*
    More please…

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