An enginerd - in an actor’s world.
Something really, really exciting happened to me this weekend.
(And no, I didn’t win a million dollars.)
For those of you that I haven’t told, one of my best friends seriously hooked me up (thanks, bro) - as an extra on a relatively popular ABC television series. Since I moonlight as an enginerd during the day, I wasn’t about to let this experience pass me by. Who wouldn’t want to experience the wonderful world of Hollywood?
And let me tell you, what an experience it was.
The day started early; at 6:45 am - all the extras needed to be on set. Even though I had crawled into bed at 10 the previous night, my nerves allowed for a sleepless night. After checking in and getting approved by makeup and wardrobe - off they shuttled us to the ‘undisclosed, secret set location’. Since I was to partake in an Asian funeral scene, all the males were outfitted in a black suit and tie. Additionally, since my family has been in Hawai`i for the better part of four generations, I decided to wear my black wired-rim glasses to appear more ‘Asian.’
Upon first arriving on the ’secret set’, I immediately noticed that there were some really attractive extras, both male and female alike. Yeah, these extras were ‘the beautiful people, the beautiful people‘… Of course, this made me even more nervous since I’m not exactly your Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise Ken Watanabe. My fears were mollified when I caught a glimpse of all the extras - it was quite apparent that even Hollywood needed ‘normal-looking’ people.
Since it was a funeral scene, all the extras were guests at the funeral. I was given various background ‘action’ roles that consisted of walking as though I had just arrived. All in all, we filmed for the better part of 5 and 1/2 hours - all for a glorious, 2 minute scene on television.
Based on the experience, I can tell you that I’m amazed at the director’s strive for perfection. We must’ve shot the same scene at least a dozen times, maybe even more, and this isn’t even including all the different angles. Being an enginerd, I can relate to the feeling of always trying to produce that ‘perfect product.’ Second, I now have the utmost respect for extras. In my wildest imaginations, I would never have guessed the amount of work that the job entailed. Albeit, the experience wasn’t exactly a stimulation of the mind, but it does require long hours, quite a bit of standing around looking ‘pretty’ (mind you - in the grueling, mid-day Hawaiian heat), and really, just enduring the madness of scene repetition. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but I can tell you first hand, I’m not so sure being an extra is all that it’s cracked up to be.
Overall, I can tell you that partaking as an extra was an amazing experience. I know, I know - I sure didn’t make it sound like one, but being trapped at a keyboard for 9 hours a day, it was something ’so fresh and so clean clean’. Even as a kid, growing up in Mililani, I’ve always dreamed of what it would be like in front of a camera. And after everything’s been all said and done, I’ve come to realize that I love being an enginerd.
I’ll do the thinking and let Hollywood and the pretty people worry about the acting.
September 11th, 2006 at 4:10 pm
I thought you were going to say the fondetta from Fromaggio’s. Because that was the highlight of my weekend.
sako
September 11th, 2006 at 5:39 pm
Hanging out with the amazing Sako was the real highlight.
September 12th, 2006 at 1:26 am
So….what is the price….hmm a question to ponder at a later time
September 15th, 2006 at 3:27 am
Wine, fondutta, sex talks and questions oh homosexuality…kick ass night!
I love you boys!
October 13th, 2006 at 5:20 pm
FYI, your episode aired this week (Oct 11). Already erased the tape so can’t go looking for you. Cool!
Here’s a pic of me, the family, and Sawyer.
October 15th, 2006 at 5:23 am
[...] Once upon a few blogs ago, I wrote about six excruciating hours as an extra on a relatively popular ABC television series. All my hard work finally came to fruition this past Wednesday as the second episode of this season’s Lost premiered. [...]
Please leave a reply »