I have joined up with a new manager at Aegis Talent.
Aside from having an amazing person in my corner, their company’s name implies that I will be heading into battle with either a ‘shield of Jupiter’ or ‘mantle of Zeus’. It’s a breastplate or shield of majesty, possibly made of goatskin or covered by it. Adorning myself with a kingly god’s boon can likely only be a good thing.
This was made by AI, and I’m wondering what this great role is that AI thinks I’m bound to play. Looks pretty rad.
Photo by Michaelah Reynold
Photo by Michaelah Reynold
Here’s me being very proud of my wife for her work writing the book for The Notebook musical.
My sister in law Jacy Ceccarelli styled us both. What a whirlwind rollercoaster ride this, and our visit to New York in general, was.
This production is the culmination of 6, maybe 7 years, of consistent work. It garnered rave reviews in the Chicago production, and generated mixed reviews in New York. Most people love the show, but it is slightly different than your average musical, and it’s about a movie, so I understand it’s an easy target.
I would expect a more diligent approach from New York professionals though - it’s disappointing that some of them cannot engage with what is moving to the majority of the audience around them, even if they are not moved themselves.
The music and book reflect the piece - a layered construction of a love story grasping to be remembered by the lovers, which builds toward a final transcendent moment that celebrates one of the best and enduring capacities we can hold. It takes the core themes of love and loss from the book and elevates them in symphonic beauty.
I’ve never been a fan of performative, campy, or splashy musicals that seem to delight the biggest energy vampires in any drama class. I prefer plays with music, or musicals with heart, and this is both, probably more the latter. A couple of my favorites have been Passing Strange (mounted at the public), and Three Penny Opera (mounted by a South African troupe in an old church in London using drums and sticks for percussion and sets).
In that way, my wife’s work adds value to the market. It provides another option that people love to embrace and celebrate.
The aforementioned work life balance is a relatively new concept, previously known as life. I’m a fan of the simpler term, but want to acknowledge how one can prepare you for the other.
With my wife out of town for work, I’ve been in charge of the mornings/nights of both children, which has been an adjustment. To all the caregivers who do this always, I am impressed/humbled. It’s a multi-tasker’s dream, and minimalist’s nightmare. Here’s a small stream of consciousness of me in the midst of it at before dinnertime - is she on the couch? no, playing with that - good, maybe a minute then, careful cut carrots not fingers, did he say dad? oh he found it, zucchini? no, still more carrots - is she on the couch? put her in here? no still playing with that, nuggets 20 seconds maybe 25 will he eat some? no, no letters left - what else? has he pooped? when? fiber - apples first so cinnamon doesn’t scatter - does she have fruit left? etc.
It’s a flow, I’m a shark, always moving from one microtask to the next, a flurry of meal prep for three different ages.
When an action comedy project comes through the pipeline, the clearly written character and action gives me a direct path through an enjoyable experience. There are quick transitions that require focus, but none of them feel very challenging given the number of transitions my life requires, and the focus is a delightful break from the frenetic pace of whack-a-mole that happens when two children need different things at the same time.
Fashion cycles around and around. It’s funny to see kids wearing what people wore in high school. The clothes are getting bigger, the hair floppier, and the pants baggier.
I’m on board with baggier pants, as long as it trends 20s 30s 40s and not 90s. The rest of it I’ll leave at Hot Topic. Skinny pants don’t fit these legs that have to hold up my big ol butt and body. Baggier pants make me feel Swooshy ™. Some kinda karate master, or painter, or jazz dancer - something masterful that requires movement.
Got a big opening night coming up to celebrate my wife’s hard work. Sister in law’s a stylist. Sent along this reference point based on my ideas. We’ll see how close I come to this lewk. This guy is an ambassador from some land of mastery. If I get halfway there I’ll feel great.
Point is - ask your people for help. If I didn’t I wouldn’t be having as much fun with this mission.
Now that the strike is over, work flow can return to normal.
Here is a normal workflow - calm calm calm calm, swell - 5 PROJECTS AT ONCE - GO!
The calm will return, but I’m looking forward to getting ‘the best barrels ever…get pulled in and spit right out…and just drop the lip and smack in WHABAP, drop down - SWABAA, and after that just drop in, just ride the barrel, and get pitted, so pitted’. Look up funny surfer interview for this reference and an internet legend.
Actually, here you go anyway.
Merry Chrimbus - HERE HE IS
Since I didn’t take any pictures on this set, here’s one the director took of the DP.
Maybe it tells the bittersweet story of the end of a finely crafted piece of collaborative art.
For me this was an opportunity to represent part of what it means to be a parent. It gave me a glimpse into the future of how devastating it will be to send my children off into the world, and a reminder to enjoy the time with them now - when they are still so small that one uses my body as a training mountain to climb, or when the other follows his curiosity to ask me - ‘did you make any friends at your acting work?’
I believe I did. I’m eager to watch what becomes of it all.
There’s a strike happening. It’s up and down, talks and then no talks.
Still there are some projects out there, if you look for them. Get back training weekly, get your chops back together, and put some tapes down on the ones that come your way.
One of them catches. It’s the type of role you’ve wanted to do for awhile. It doesn’t rely on your height. It doesn’t rely on your mean mug. It relies on an experience you have every day to your children. It feels like your life, but in a slightly different universe.
Additionally, it’s a film. You can take space to let more of your life in. Unlike TV, there’s not a clock ticking in the back of everyone’s head. It’s all a huge relief. You are grateful.
But then you realize you have to work out the schedule of your real children and this parallel family. Fortunately you have a real wife, unlike the absent one in the story. Again you are grateful.
This is just here to say that I’m very proud of my wife and the whole creative team behind The Notebook The Musical. My wife wrote the book, and I was just there for support. I’m on Team Jock Strap. Or Team Bra. Or Team Back Brace.
It’s been illuminating to see the degree of talent and work that goes into something like this. I was privileged enough to see the show in Chicago a few times, and it does what only live theatre can do - send you and everyone in the room on a beautiful transcendent journey that momentarily takes you out of time and into the heart of humanity.
So far it’s been a 6 year process, which apparently is short for musicals. I am beyond impressed, and can’t wait to celebrate in the city that never sleeps. Seriously, NYC, why do your trash tracks clang around at 2 am? People are trying to sleep. I love you but you’re loud.
Thought I’d refresh my current work by shooting something with a friend during these doldrums.
Here are a couple pics of it. They say write what you know, so I wrote a little scene about the time I took my landlord to court. My agent gets some lawyer jargon to send out to all the lawyer jargony shows, and it fulfills my desire to tell stories about deserved justice. I contacted the team at Relentless Filmworks to direct, capture, and edit it, because their work is so stellar.
For my scene partner I contacted the very talented Blake Boyd, someone who embodies ‘action bias’ as I sometimes do.
Action bias is what may save us from this strike.
I’m sure you’ve heard. The SAG-AFTRA guild of TV/film actors, including myself, are going on strike.
I’m proud of my guild for not settling. I’ve long taken issue with streaming residuals, their obfuscation of numbers, and plenty of the other issues on the table.
This has happened before - a new technology has arisen that restructures an industry, and for a time those who control the technology realize they can take advantage of this new structure, until the workers realize they must stand together and demand their fair share according to their contribution. The controllers of the technology are only special in that they got there first and were willing to assert their avarice.
The WGA is on strike, which means the auditions for film and television have dried up.
So, I pivot to another arena of my life. Family, friends, housework, writing my own projects, etc. Our 4 month old baby takes up quite a wonderful part of my day.
Got a moment to catch up with my Texan friend Blake Boyd, a talented, humble, and very productive fellow actor. He gave me some pointers on riding, we talked about scenes we were gonna film, we had lunch, and were serenaded in Spanish by fellow diners.
My horse for the day, Blue, was a big dude like myself, so I was grateful that he could bear my weight. Some places don’t accommodate for big ol butts.
Here’s some shots of us riding around.
As an actor, TV/movie developer, player of D&D, and DM of D&D, I’m extremely happy this movie did a fantastic job of overcoming all the challenges that might have sunk an amazing opportunity.
As an actor I’m stoked on how truthful everyone played the world and their own storylines. With high fantasy, I’ve seen many actors go too big, maybe to match how big the world seems. This didn’t happen here. It felt like real humans/tieflings/elves living in a world with different rules.
As a TV/movie developer, I’m impressed with their ability to translate the experience and source material into a tone appropriate adventure that feels plucked out of a campaign book, without getting lost in the weeds of rules/abilities that might have slowed it down. Everything was in service of the story, as it should be for a movie or TV experience.
As a player, I’m excited to see something reflect the fun of what playing is like. Some, if not many of the creators, must have played, or at least listened to the experience of what it’s like to play the game. Or at least they did such a good job of imagining what it would be like they might as well have played.
As a DM, I’m gonna be plucking some of the content from this and retooling it for my own nefarious purposes. Also, the runner of Jarnathan was a great touch - just because as a DM, you prepare a whole campaign, elaborate with details, thinking you’ve prepped for every main route the party might take. But more often than not, the players focus on one NPC for some reason, wanting to know his name and backstory - so you come up with one on the spot, sometimes resulting in a very stupid name like Jarnathan. Now all of a sudden Jarnathan is an essential aspect of your players’ plan, and saying Jarnathan out loud becomes the running joke that keeps on giving. Jarnathan.
I’m hoping this strike ends soon so that in the DND TV series, Rawson Marshall Thurber can write me a recurring role as a Ranger who speaks almost exclusively in seemingly stupid riddles that mean nonsense at the time, but turn out to be surprisingly apropos later on. Basically Minsc but with a beard.
The season finale of NCIS is now streaming!
I play a Russian inmate with a penchant for violence. Typecasting I guess.
You can catch glimpses of my stunt double here and there in the big fight scene. Here is Nick Epper and I being twins on set:
Gotta do this spiderman meme shot w/ your stunt double. It’s in my contract.
Here’s this guy who kept kicking my ass:
Super fun shoot. Most fun I’ve had on a TV set. Great crew. Talented actors. Stoked for people to watch it.
We look VERY friendly here. I assure you our onscreen relationship is very contentious.
Very fashion, very eyes wide shut, very enigmatic doorman.
Check it out streaming on the Hulu and the ABC and wherever else you can find this show.
Here’s one of said places -
This was the first time I’ve heard an apple box* be requested for me. It was later decided that I was indeed tall enough for the desired effect.
Very grateful to hop up to Malibu to shoot this fun scene.
*apple box - a wooden box of standard size that serves to raise one actor or crewperson to a higher position (not an official definition)
Finished shooting the season finale on this long running cornerstone of procedural drama. Very honored to have taken part. Much of the crew on this show has been together since JAG, and that translates…one of the crew members described it as having the spirit of an indie film crew on a network show, and I think that’s pretty apt.
Had the absolute pleasure to work opposite Wilmer Valderrama, Themo Melikidze, and Chris Petrovski, the dp Billy Webb, and director Diana Valentine. All the rest of the crew (Avery/Wyatt/Nick/Elion/Aaron/Carrie/Rich/Karen/Jose/Kurt/errybody) were incredibly welcoming, professional, and all the other things you hope for.
Oh man, also was really stoked to have worked with stunt coordinator Diamond Farnsworth, and my first stunt double - Nick Eppers! I realize how much I miss the choreography of combat. It was also magic to see someone else turned into a clone of myself.
Very excited to see how it all turns out.
You’re on paternal leave and auditions start coming down the line. Some start shooting after or almost after your leave is done (which, by the way, as an artist is arbitrary but completely necessary to allow time to adjust to life with a new baby).
Do you…?
A. Turn down the auditions that aren’t worth it.
B. Do the auditions that are worth it.
C. Do auditions while sleep deprived.
D. Book a substantial role on a network TV show.
E. All of the above.
The answer is E. And to sum up all of these series so far - being busy with life is a great reason to do an audition, not the other way around. I’m beginning to think that a little bit of chaos helps with focus.
My life has been thrown into the wonderful chaos of caring for a newborn while also raising for a toddler.
The noise level of these combined events is sometimes counterproductive to focus, especially on creative work.
This ear protection, made to endure the sound of grinding steel, gunshots, and other cacophonies, has stepped up to save the day.
When I have a spare moment here or there, and when my wonderful wife is caring for the joyous noisemakers, these have allowed me the quietude needed to get some small amount of work completed.
Finished up a shoot on a show led by this very talented, humble, and hard working dude.
Have been a fan of Milo’s since Heroes, and am grateful to have worked with him. It’s clear he’s using his extensive experience to helm an extremely efficient set. When every single person seems content, that’s a signal that leadership is on the right track.
Very excited to see what comes of this show, and for my appearance as an enigmatic gatekeeper.
The Rule of Booking Pt. III - it’s not hard to book, and it never was. It’s fun.
You cannot game the rules of booking. You can’t pretend it’s not hard if it is.
But if there’s any pattern it’s this - you’re busy working on so many different things (creative work included), which creates a state of mind that’s too busy to obsess over your work. You have just enough time to do the work necessary, so you do it, and then share it.
It’s a small relief that it doesn’t need to be hard. But still - you work hard so that it’s not hard. Many of life’s truths are a paradox.
Here are some of my favorite things that I watched this past year:
The Rehearsal - it’s absurd where it went and ended up but I love that they basically gave this man the money to take his artistic whims wherever he wanted.
1883 - Oh, you want more story than dialogue? Everything that could happen to you when playing the Oregon Trail, happens here through brilliantly written and performed and shot scenes. Every aspect is fantastic. Also a textbook way to use voiceover like it is here - to frame this violent world through the hopeful eyes of a young woman exploring it. Usually voiceover seems like a lazy way to lay out story. Not here. Taylor Sheriden is one of the best storytellers in the game right now.
Top Gun : Maverick - Just peak action. HRRRGN, HRRRGN, percussively breathe through the sharp turns of this aerial extravaganza.
Reacher - Likely never loved a character more than Reacher, and I think this hunky dude nailed his perspective. Lotta big guy being hungry humor I can relate to, lot of uncomplicated fun of a classic action thriller.
Severance - a slow burn that pays off hugely…you’ll be glad you watched a few too many ‘walking down a labyrinthine hallway’ scenes in the end.
Adam McKay - nearly any of what he touches is thoroughly excellent.
And here are some slight criticisms of entertainment these days:
I can now tell when a show is ‘doing a thing’. Like there were a lot of talks in pre-production about tone, and style, and there are wigs, and there’s some cool color correction, and it just takes me out of it really quickly. Basically valuing style over content. Have a good story first, then have it live in another world. With so many in the TV and film production game, it’s likely just a product of statistics. But it makes me change the channel really fast. And I lament the sunk cost of just creating a mood. Actors fall into the same trap of doing what they think it feels like or looks like instead of telling an authentic truth about themselves. I’ve done it.
I hope we are over saturated with charismatic con men and women. I know people are stupid and believe what they want to believe, and that there will be people who abuse this. I just find it incredibly boring. Yes, people will lie to get what they want. Lotta great performances are highlighting the morally bankrupt. Is that really what you want to do with your life?
Not everything needs to have musical numbers. I think executives really overshot trying to ride the trend here. Sometimes your leads can’t sing that well. It’s not pleasant listening to people who aren’t good singers. Leave it out and let the story do its thing.
I’m very much against throwing violence against children into a show. Likely because I’m a father now. It seems like a cheap attention grab to crudely engineer stakes. Very sensitive to how violence is used so cheaply to garner our sympathy and hatred of the characters.
Hey, but what do I know? I’m just a guy who’s trying to navigate this deluge of content and spot the trends that aren’t bearing any more fruit.