A couple weeks ago I was invited by friends I met at the local "bike night" to drop in for their weekly podcast.  It was just released this morning.  I'm on episode 54.

A little bit of adult humor and language - you've been warned!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/primetime-chuckles-podcast/id978823055?mt=2

I am, quite clearly, way too much like my mother.  Hence her nickname, "The Source of the Trouble".
Sometimes, I need to get good and damn pissed off to get productive.
Which is what happened after 2 very long days in holding the week of the 12th and a very long stupid day on the set of The Originals last week.
I worked on The Originals 4 times last year and swore I'd never do it again but I broke that oath because of what looked like a good casting call for a limited amount of "rough looking guys - think Vikings, etc" they put out awhile back.  Several of my actor friends submitted as did I.
I was put on hold first - as in, please hold these days for us while we check with the director and we'll get back to you.  Then the passed on me.  Thanks but no thanks.
And then they came back with a, "but we could use you on this other scene instead" - still a smallish call and it seemed somewhat interesting so I signed up.  2 days on set.  Smaller scene.  Sounds ok.  I'll do it.
Then, after I had agreed to be on set I started seeing a lot of calls from The Originals for the same day.  Saying "party scene - lots of extras needed".
Damn.
But since I already signed up, I went.
My preliminary casting call was for 7:30 AM.
So, I showed up on set in Conyers, GA at 7:15.
Only to be told that "sorry, you must not have seen the change in call time.  We don't need you until 9:30 AM - but thanks for being early"
Shit.
And of course, there were lots of notes in all of the emails about "bring lots of choices for your wardrobe - "you don't want to be yelled at by the wardrobe folks !"
So I showed up in Conyers, GA at 7:15 AM in a shirt and tie and nice suit jacket - only to find that - not only was I not needed yet but wardrobe already had clothes for me.
As they did for most of the others on set.
All 100+ of them.
Yep.
Over 100 extras in their small scene.
The big calls - cattle calls really - are exquisitely boring.
And you'll rarely get any camera time.
Last year I was literally standing next to 2 of the main actors, who were having a long conversation, and you still never saw me.  Just a blurry something in the background.
All of this to make minimum wage.
And to hang out with 100 people who think minimum wage is getting paid.
So Wednesday absolutely sucked.
I was there for 14 hours, in and out of a huge, un-airconditioned tent - doing nothing but trying to maintain a positive attitude - no easy chore for me - and not getting screen time.
But - because I am the son of "The Source of the Trouble" - I was just ticked off enough when I got home - at sometime around 9 or 10 PM to get busy and send a few emails off to casting agents.
And - lo and behold - first thing the next morning - I got an email back.
We're interested.  Send us your pro head shots as soon as you get them.
Those head shots are scheduled for tomorrow.
And with any luck - I'll have an agent pushing me for bigger and better parts.
Actual speaking roles.
No more Orange Peanut Butter Crackers for me.
No sir.
I'm going upscale with the Craft Service.
1st run stuff.
Sodas and mini-Snickers.
Beef jerky and Gatorade.
No more lukewarm bottled water and Costco pretzels,
What a dream!

Well cross your fingers it all goes well.
xoxo, J

I worked on The Vampire Diaries today.  Not sure how much camera time I got but I was right in front for a while.
Episode 806 - look for the "sketchy guy" outside of the motel.
The one with the eyepatch - that's me.

Well, I just wrapped up 3 days on a big movie filming here in the ATL.  Can't say who's in it - big NDA was signed on day and these movie folks are all too happy to file suit if you cross them - not to mention it's just plain bad form.
The first day was great.  I was in very close quarters with 2 of the stars - big names both - and may actually get a bit of screen time.  But even if I don't, it was fun to be so close and to watch them work and go thru their "process".
(Yeah - I kinda hate the word too.)

I'm booked on 3 different locally shot tv shows next week - outstanding if I do say so myself.
It's good to be busy.  They're all still background work but getting on set counts.
It can get pretty boring sometimes - lots of waiting and waiting and waiting with not much happening but it's a good place to be seen, recognized, and to network.  And I figure the more I'm on set the more chance I have of some actually picking me up for something else - esp. real acting / speaking roles.
With that in mind, I thought I'd post some pics / banners of some of my work since last year.  Most of these I'm deep background and I'm barely visible, if at all.  And there's several that I can't include until they are released but this is better than half.

I was in the pilot for this Lee Daniels production.  It did get picked up by the network.

I've done 4 episodes of The Originals so far.  

I did an episode of Rectify with my buddy Matt Bolick a few months back.  Very blurry.

This was fun - and my first speaking role on tv!

You can see my bike in the scene where Tony Hale gets tossed out of a bar window.  Me, not so much.

I haven't seen this so I don't know if I made the final cut but I filmed a scene where I get killed by Lena Dunham.  She's about as attractive as a boiled potato up close, btw.

The episode I'm in aired about 2 weeks ago.  My friend Chad Joyce and I help get rid of a body.  You can see me for a few seconds.

Looking forward to seeing this!  Playing bikers again with Matt Bolick and Chad Joyce.

You won't see me at all in this - but I did nearly step on Jennifer Anniston.  Twice.   She's really really tiny and easy to miss. 

The biggee of course.  I'm in the mid-season trailer that aired after episode 8.  The scene is officially episode 9.  

Have no idea when this aired or if I'm visible.  I'm in a bar room.  Playing biker again, this time with Josh D'Agostino - also with me on TWD.  

There's at least 3 movies that haven't been released yet to add.  I'll post when they come out.  

Labor Day weekend turned out to be a pretty big win over here at EPPdF.  I woke up crazy early Saturday morning to drive to Winston-Salem for the comicon.  It's a 5 hour drive so I had to get up at 3:30 AM and leave at 5:00 to get there on time.  Much as I hate to admit, that was the right decision.  I had just crossed the South Carolina border when the sun came up and made it to the W-S Annex right at 10:00 AM, at almost the exact moment that Matt Bolick pulled up in his Jeep.  The doors opened at 11:00 so we had just enough time to set up and look around before the public was allowed to enter.  Amber Dawn Fox, Jeremy Ambler, and Lauren Henneberg (also TWD alumni) were also there so it was a nice crew that I had spent time with and worked with before.
We didn't do a lot of business, per se, but hundreds of people stopped by our table to say hi and to take pictures with us so we had tons of fun clowning around and talking with all the TWD fans.

The promoter of the event, Ryan Lusk - owner of Burke Street Comics in W-S - was great.  He checked on us throughout the day to make sure we had anything we needed, put us all up in Marriott Courtyard near the Annex, and then took us out to Hutch & Harris for dinner that night.

http://hutchandharris.com/

Protip:  order the crabcakes!

Afterwards, Ryan's assistant Chris walked us over to an Irish bar - Finnegan's Wake - for a couple pints.  Nice bar with a great bluegrass band playing that night - but one of the worst double pours I've ever had.  

How can you call yourself an Irish pub and name that pub after the most famous book by the most famous Irish author and none your bartenders know how to properly pour a damn Guninness ?! 

C'mon people!  Get it together. 

(I still drank them - but I wasn't happy about it.)

Sunday morning I was up early again and hit the road for the 5 hour trip home around 9 am.  Made it back in time to relieve "The Source of the Trouble" who was looking after "the dog" while I was away.  

Put in a good workout and dog walk - and even snuck in a nap - before a really old, close friend from Middleburg called for a "catchin' up" over the phone.  

This is Wes and I working on my old '55 Chevy 210 somewhere around 1989-90 ish.

It's good to have people in your life that you've known 30+ years - and that still like you!

Late Sunday night I drove out to meet my old buddy Joey from the way back, garage rock, band days but, unfortunately missed him and his brother play a quick set on the patio.  Joey and his GF, Pam, had driven up from Gulf Shores via Birmingham for the night to hang out and perform but I didn't get the message until too late.

Fortunately, Joey called me Monday (Labor Day) morning while I was walking "the dog" and he and Pam stopped in for a quick bite at El Taco before they got back on the road.  Always love to see those two maniacs.  They treated me so well - and let me crash on their couch for a week while I was doing my cross country motorcycle ride a few years back.  Pam still doesn't quite forgive me for hogging the sofa for 8 days instead of the 2 I had planned  ,))

Good times!  

Here's a couple shots of Joey and I back in the day.  

All in all it was a completely successful and fun weekend! 

Hope yours was too!