No one was around except for me and my nerves. I woke up unsure if I'd be on the TV screen or the cutting room floor. Yeah, I was just a guy in the background playing an FBI agent, but these beginnings mean a lot to me nonetheless.I sat at the 99 Pub to indulge in their lunch special. I couldn't really afford it but I figured that I might as well reward myself. Cutting room floor or not, my episode of "White Collar" was up for showing that night and everyone at the establishment wanted to know all about it. The cook even came out from the kitchen and asked if it was OK to talk to me, White Collar is his favorite show. I was more than happy to tell him everything he wanted to know but I had the apprehensions. I worried that I'd be building these peoples expectations up and they'd waste an hour of their lives looking for some flickering image of me and find nothing. I had been warned that it could happen.
I made calls to friends minutes before the show aired and hoped that I would have some support. I don't know, I just needed to tell people about it where as before I was kind of avoiding it. So there I am siting on my couch in a ratty sweatshirt and shorts eating a bowl of soup and some bread hoping that there would be something I can feel good about over the next 60 minutes and beyond.
Ladies and gents, I got good face time in those 60 minutes for a background actor. You ca
n't miss me, unless you blow by the entire scene with the fast forward button. And I just sat there in amazement, I mean these I was. And there were the first faint signs that my hard work had some payoff and while I always felt doing background work wasn't a waste, I now know it wasn't a waste beyond a shadow of a doubt. And I just feel....well.....I don't know how I feel. And that's not a bad thing, I just need time for it to absorb I guess. I mean...this time last year I was talking about doing this and now I AM doing it and have speaking parts in some minor things about to be produced. It's not much but it's surreal in a way. I guess I'm moving along then, right?Where Can I See this episode of "White Collar" so I Can Play Spot Ricardo?
The Episode called "Front Man" will be streamed online here at Hulu.
