The casting office called us to book Zach around 6:30pm on Tuesday night. The call time was 7:30am the next morning. The casting office asked if I also wanted to be on the show as a background person. Why not??? I had to be on set with Zach so why not get paid while I was there?
The casting office was looking for "real dads" to be in the scenes for Wednesday. I was standing on Cahuenga Boulevard when they called so I wasn't near a computer to email a photo for them to decide if they "liked my look". I told them I'd send one in about 30 minutes but they were hopeful they would book someone before I got home. I sent them the photo about 45-minutes later and they replied back with an instant "Yes...Please be on set for a 7am call time".
We've been on a ton of shoots but never on the set of a major prime-time comedy. The email we received from the casting office told us everything to bring on Wednesday morning. We had to bring Zach's social security card, current school records, homework for the school teacher, a valid work permit, clothing options and a copy of his birth certificate. I had to bring my driver's license and my social security card. They also sent us the address of the Fox Lot parking garage, a map of the studio lot and instructions on parking without having to pay.
The Fox Lot parking garage is around the corner from the studio. You have to park in the garage and then go to the top of the garage to the walkway. The walkway leads to The Avenue of the Stars. You take the Avenue to Olympic and then to Galaxy Way. The walk on Galaxy Way leads to the security guard gate at Fox. The security guard checks you in and then you have another nice walk through the lot until you reach Stage 5. Stage 5 is the home of "Modern Family" AND it's also the home of "Dexter". You can find items from America's #1 family mixed with items used by America's #1 serial killer.
We checked in with the casting person and filled out our paperwork for the day. I was put in charge of the pay vouchers for the two of us.
We made our way over to wardrobe so they could approve our clothes. The email from the casting office told us what kind of clothes to bring to the shoot. The scene was outside on a fall day so long sleeves, jeans, sports clothes and jackets were the order of the day. None of the clothes can have any visible logos because production companies and networks would have to pay the companies if they don't have a deal already in place to use their products.
I didn't own any t-shirts without logos or superheroes on them so we went shopping on Tuesday night and bought two (money-wise) cheap solid color t-shirts. I had to change into a second shirt and The Artist had to wear another pair of shoes but those were minor wardrobe changes.
With a few minutes to kill, we made our way to craft services. The breakfast selection included cereal, donuts, oatmeal, fruit, bagels, bacon, hash browns and custom made omelets. I went with oatmeal (because eggs are disgusting) and Zach had some cereal.
Breakfast didn't last long because it was time to hop in a van and head to Beverly Hills for location shooting at a park.
I'll admit I was afraid to be part of the show. I wasn't afraid of the cameras or the work. I was afraid the show would be ruined for me for the rest of my life.
I haven't watched Cheers since the late-90s. We were living in Memphis and Dana was doing an event for the American Diabetes Association. The "celebrity" at the event was one of the stars of Cheers and when he finally arrived (30-minutes late) at the event he didn't think the crowd was big enough for a person of his fame. He started yelling at Dana since she was the person standing next to him.
Did I mention Dana was 8 months pregnant at the time?
The "celebrity" was such a jerk yelling at a pregnant woman in front of the entire crowd that it ruined the TV show for me.
(A quick note to my Memphis friends...the jerk in question is not Woody Harrelson from his time in the city shooting the Larry Flynt movie)
I didn't want to see any of the Modern Family cast acting like jerks to the extras or the crew because it would prevent me from watching the show.
I'm happy to say they couldn't have been a nicer group of people.
The cast on set at our shoot included Ed O'Neill, Ty Burrell, Nolan Gould and Rico Rodriguez. It was interesting watching the actors interact with each other. It's obvious the "father" actors have a great deal of love and respect for the "son" actors. The kid actors really enjoyed working with the guys that play their parents.
Zach's background scenes were with the two main child actors and 7-8 background kids. He was placed in the first shot of the day with 4 of the other kids.
About 5-minutes before the first shot of the day another child extra and his father arrived (late) to the set. We knew this kid and his dad from various auditions around the city. The dad is always going on about how much his kid has worked and how his son is beyond "simple background work". I laughed out loud (for the first time) when they walked up to the set. I laughed out loud (for the second time) when the father loudly announced to the crew his son had arrived to shoot his background scenes. I laughed out loud (for the third time) when the PA looked him and said, "So?" The dad attempted to argue with the crew member that his son should be included in the shot. The PA told him they should learn to show up on time and to take his kid to the on-set teacher.
It was the first highlight of my day.
The child too good for background work is not in this photo. The kids are hanging out between takes of the first scene.
The dad extras were good guys and almost all of them were professional actors. There was only one other "real dad" on the set with me making extra money while we had to be on set with our kids. The professional extras were union guys and were happy to make the money and complain at the same time. They complained about:
***The working conditions of past jobs
***The way studios try to "cheat them" out of a full lunch hour (we ate for over an hour)
***The small number of shuttle vans back to the studio
One extra complained to me about having to park at the Fox parking garage. He tried to convince me that Fox has too many employees and a professional (such as himself) who has been an extra on so many shows on the lot should be able to park on the lot like any name actor.
Fake label beer on set to avoid having to pay a name brand.
I was in four scenes during the shoot. I don't know how much, if any, I'll be in the show. I was glad to find out these guys were not jerks so I can continue to watch the show.
The day ended with the kids finishing their three hours of school (state law), signed pay vouchers and validated parking. I'm not sure if I'll do any background work in the future but it wasn't a bad way to spend the day!
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4115971/
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