I’ve never been so grateful to be so exhausted.

"How are you feeling?" The question sounded like it had been asked by a person standing at the other end of an aluminum tube, possibly while underwater.

"I can taste sound, and I can hear color," I said, only partially joking. "Can someone please turn down the sky?"

It was just before 8 in the morning, and I had been awake for close to 27 hours. I was standing in the airport in Vancouver, but my day had actually begun in Portland, because I'm working on two shows at once, playing Cha0s in the season finale of Leverage and Doctor Parrish in what it turns out is the series finale penultimate episode of Eureka.

This is a weird and awesome life, and I've never been so grateful to be so exhausted.

Because this happened in the middle of the night, and was only on Twitter, most of you missed it. However, it's hilarious to me and I wanted to make sure you saw it:

@TimHutton: return of the @BethJRiesgraf robot with an introduction by @wilw http://www.twitvid.com/9DSZG

and

@TimHutton: and now… almost live from west linn oregon, @wilw as mecha Chaos and… wait for it…… #Leverage http://www.twitvid.com/6X3ZW

We really do have this much fun when we work together (remember this and this from Eureka last season?) but we can still focus and get the work done … though I'm not sure it's really accurate to call it "work", when we love what we do so much.

I was worried that I would be so tired and spacey by today that there was a real risk that Doctor Parrish and Cha0s would bleed into each other, so I made two lists on the back of a script page. One is titled Cha0s, and the other is titled Dr. Parrish. On each list, I wrote down all the defining charactaristics, as simply and specifically as possible, for each character, so I have it clearly in my head and available to me at a glance on the set. I also drew a thick black line all the way down the page, to remind myself that there needs to be a firewall between the two of them. And because I know it'll be a FAQ, the fundamental difference between the two of them is: Isaac is, in his heart, basically a good person who is a little insecure, and easily annoyed. Cha0s, though, is basically a bad person who is profoundly arrogant, and easily amused.

I have a mercifully late call to Eureka today, before I head back to PDX at ouch-it-hurts-me-are-you-fucking-serious-o'clock tomorrow … and I couldn't be happier about that.

30 thoughts on “I’ve never been so grateful to be so exhausted.”

  1. Glad you will be back in PDX, still pending confirmation on a background role for it and it would give me great nerdy joy if I did, even if it isn’t in a related scene. That set is fun and enjoyable even for the extras IMO.

  2. I saw those videos last night on twitter. You roboting it up made me lol. Is this your last day shooting for Eureka? If so, that must be sad.

  7. I was nervous before I read this that you would be complaining about having too much work, and then I would have to hate you. I’m really glad to see you appreciate your opportunities. Best of luck.
    Go Caps!!!!

  9. Nice post, as usual. Glad you are so busy with multiple awesome projects at once. Hopefully they’ll have you in the actual Eureka series finale (or better yet that it somehow gets picked up for another season 🙂
    The http://www.twitvid.com/9DSZG needs fixing. It got tangled up with your Twitter page link and you only get to your page when you click on it. I cut and pasted it to go watch. Saw your robot clip when you first posted it. Both were cute.

  10. This makes my heart so happy. I feel like I can relate a bit more, for once! 😀
    I recently quit my PT job to focus on family, writing, health and hobbies, and immediately a director friend asked for actors to do a little diddy melodrama at his church for their…wait for it… “Night of AWESOME!” I am having so much fun. We laugh ALL the time, but we are fantastic and gettin’ r done, too. I’m glad he asked and I said yes. I was in a show in February with a local Theatre Company I joined here (my only paid Gig ever)… it was so SERIOUS and pressure-filled that I swore I was done with theatre for good (after having just gotten back in after so many years doing the parenting thing). I took this little gig, though, as a step back out and realized, instantly, who and what you work with, as well as why, really can make or break an experience.
    I am dead freaking tired, and we were feeling it last night, but we still had a blast. The guy running the event said he would like to compensate us in some way, which seems silly to me, as we signed on to do this to help our friend and because we love it.
    I am so happy for you, words don’t cut it.

  11. Remember a few years ago when you blogged that you’re done with acting and insisted that you’re now a “writer-slash-actor”? Yeah, fate is mocking you so hard. 😀
    You told the universe that you didn’t care and it took care of you when the time was right. It gave you what you need, and now you’re in a great place. It’s heart-warming to see, especially after reading variation incarnations of your blog since nearly the beginning.
    Maybe next year we’ll get you at Fan Expo Toronto.

  12. Absolutely what she said. 🙂
    And if anything cool ever comes to Omaha, now that we have the big Qwest Center and MidAmerican Centers out there, that would be sweet. We kind of get the shaft a bit in the Midwest unless I’m able to drive 8-9 hrs to Chicago or Minneapolis.
    OOH OOH OHH! The Qwest Center would be cool, seeing as my husband gets any tickets he wants from his Qwest vendor at work.

  14. Although I’m sad about the end of Eureka, I must admit it rocks to know that one of my favorite sci-fi shows is being completed with you, one of my favorite actors of all time, as a part of it.
    Now about the robot vids…dude, I seriously lol’d watching that. And after the day I’ve had…it was much needed.
    Oh, and btw, my husband is spending our 5th wedding anniversary by going to Dragon*Con (which is so not fair cuz I wanna go too and we can’t afford for both of us to go). I told him if he manages to bring me your autograph, he’s off the hook. 🙂

  17. so that WAS you in front of the Ace Hotel… Dang I should have done the fanboy thing and bugged you while you were enjoying your day.
    Come visit Blizzard please if you are ever down in Orange County!

  21. I’m one of those fans who only watches SF for wrestling, but have been missing you on “Leverage”. Loved seeing those vids on my Twitter last night.

  22. “Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way.”
    — Jane Austen
    I am amused that the above quote was the first thing I saw after I watched those vids. Not sure you are quite sensible enough to make it happen, though. 😉

  23. You’re the reason I got into both Eureka and Leverage so I’m pretty excited that you’re heading back to both.
    I’m heartbroken about Eureka, but I’m glad that they get one more episode. And on the other side of the coin, I’m so happy to hear about another season of Leverage.
    My friend Tesa told me about the new season of Leverage while I was chatting with her yesterday. She works as a seamstress for the show and said that you’re super awesome in person (and that you like her dog Gertie). It always makes me happy to hear that people I admire are genuine in real life.

  24. I love watching all these mini-videos! Beth’s robot was hilarious.
    You know, it just occurred to me… between these shows, BBT & The Guild, for a guy whose motto is “don’t be a dick”, you play it really well.
    “Hi, I’m Wil Wheaton. I’m not a dick, but I play one on TV.”

  25. Hey Wil,
    I know this has nothing to do with you but…
    BRING MORE JOBS TO CALIFORNIA.
    I don’t understand why so much filming goes down out of state.

  26. Yet another beer related note–next time you’re up in Vancouver filming, or for any reason…drop down the border to Bellingham, Washington and check out Chuckanut Brewing. Amazing dedicated lager brewery run by Will Kemper, half of the name behind Thomas Kemper sodas and beer. I really recommend them.

  27. I immensely enjoyed the robot vids the other night on Twitter. Yes, this East coaster was still up. I seem to only get to an actual computer once a week these days, so I’m catching up now on my comments.
    Anyway…sorry the work is running you ragged, but so glad you have it and that we get to enjoy it. I think you’re dead on in regards to Parrish and Chaos, and I can’t wait to see more of both of them! Also, as for EUReKA, I’ve loved it for ages, and I’m sad to see it go, but I suppose all good things and all that. I’m glad the powers that be granted a final episode for the writers to wrap things up, and I suppose being cut down short is better than going too long (I’m looking at you, X-Files). That’s how I’m choosing to look at it, anyway. Get some sleep, Wil. You’ve earned it.

  29. Just like the rest of everyone, I’m truly bummed to hear about Eureka. It’s been really wonderful to hear over and over again that it’s as much fun for all of you to make as it is for us to watch. It will be missed.
    Also, Pioneer Courthouse Square in downtown PDX is showing Stand By Me as their free Flicks-On-The-Bricks movie this Friday if you’re still here and feel any need to don some sort of Jackie O. sunglasses-headscarf-pouty-lips getup and sneak by incognito to see a bunch of Portlanders Portlanding with their families while simultaneously appreciating you. It’s a pretty enjoyable evening even if you’re not actually in the movie.

  30. In West Linn, eh. I wonder if I’ll be able to recognize where you were shooting, as West Linn (much like Clackamas Community College, where some earlier shooting was done), is practically in my back yard.

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