I think I should start with the obvious: I SAW MYSELF ON TV TONIGHT! For most people, this is probably nothing, but I think that it is really cool, so it is kind of a big deal to me. The episode ended at 11pm, and here it is 4:30am and I am still riding the high. That's some kind of high right there if you ask me.
I knew this day would eventually get here ever since I was on set the day that episode was filmed, back in February. I have had 4 months to prepare for it. But I wasn't ready.
HAVE YOU EVER SEEN YOURSELF ON TV?!
I mean, back in February, I was an extra. Talk about Cloud 9! I actually blogged about my first experience as an extra (You can read about that experience here! Extra! Extra! Read All About It!). The episode that aired tonight was filmed the week after that. I can't believe that I did not blog about this experience! It was SO MUCH BETTER! I was, as you can see from the picture below, SO CLOSE to the two main characters! I WISH I could have talked to them (I actually did say a few words to Crystal [Allison, the main girl] when she first came into the classroom and sat down)! I do have to say that I did get to talk to Mama Argent (Eaddy Mays), though. She's SO cool and down to Earth.
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| Yes, that's me! |
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| In case you were wondering what I was writing/looking at, here is the notebook I was given to use as a prop for the scene. We were told to take notes. You probably can't read it, but it is what was written on the board. I just started copying it, and that's how far I got. Apparently, this scene was filmed on Wednesday. |
I think that, if I was a professional TV actor, I would take some time to talk to those extras that knew and followed the show and actually wanted to talk to me. It might actually make their day as it would have mine as an extra if one of the main characters talked to me.
But anyway, back to the extra thing. As you can see, I was chosen to sit right behind Crystal Reed! So cool! Then Tyler Posey came into the room and sat really close to me. I could have talked to them if we had had like a 5 minute break to just sit there and chill haha, provided they actually wanted to talk to me. There are scenes that we filmed that either were not used for other reasons or that will be in future episodes, so that'd be really cool to see myself again :) But really, don't hold your breath. I had my time on screen, and that was totally awesome.
I think I put these actors and actresses on a pedestal. I know they are just normal people like me, but at the same time, they aren't. They are on TV every week like it's no big deal. We expect to see them there. They have tons of followers on Twitter, and people tweet them ALL the time. There's something different about them that makes them not "normal humans." So yea, I put them on a pedestal, and I am ok with that. I bet they'd all disagree, that they really are like normal people just like you and I are, but I think I would have to disagree. Normal people don't have upwards of 10,000 followers on Twitter. Normal people don't appear on a hit TV show every Monday for 12 (or 24) weeks. So while they are just like you and I, they are celebrities, so they aren't.
I think (I do a lot of that, especially late at night) that I have figured out the whole purpose behind that last paragraph. I put them on a pedestal because they have what I feel like a lot of people want, what I want. Honestly, I was eating up all the attention on Facebook and Twitter tonight. No lie. I loved it. This is going to sound really vain and shallow, but I liked the attention. Eyes were on me tonight, and I liked it. It was just a small, a very small, bit of what the actors/actresses go through a lot I bet. I want that. That'd be so cool. To have total strangers approach me and say, "Hey, aren't you the guy on [insert name of TV show here]?" I think that'd be so cool. I have had this itch, this dream, to go West, to LA, for awhile, before I have to come back to reality and settle down with a job and whatnot. How cool would it be to go to LA, somehow get an audition for something, and it lead to something else, something big? That would be amazing. I think I would put teaching on hold for a few years to do that. I think.
(I am desperately trying to not begin each paragraph with "I think," but that's really what this post is, just me thinking) I think that I want those things: the fame, the attention, etc., because I have a fear of living a useless life. (Not that NOT being "famous" would be a useless life, because that's not what I am saying at all, but that having the fame would be a surefire way to have a "useful" life.) To know that people, a lot of people, were affected by me being here on this Earth. I think that is one of the main reasons I want to be a teacher. I want to impact lives. I would hate to live my life knowing that I didn't impact anyone. That would totally suck. I know that teachers impact people, because I have been impacted by several teachers, but I am just scared that I won't find the same satisfaction in the impact teachers make that I think actors make.
Even if it's just one film, or one TV show that only gets a few episodes before getting cancelled due to unforeseen reasons, I still want it. I hear that people sometimes start out as extras, become stand-ins, get a line or two, and BAM! they are "discovered" and whisked off to some big TV/movie set where they have major screen time and tons of lines. That would be awesome.
If you have read all of this, thank you. I realize that I rambled, but I did give a fair warning. I went from being a superficial extra, to a real guy who actually had something deep to say in this post. I'll call this a successful post, but I might be just a little biased ;)
What do you think? The comment box is just below this, what else are you waiting for?
Cameron
"I think that is one of the main reasons I want to be a teacher. I want to impact lives. I would hate to live my life knowing that I didn't impact anyone."
ReplyDeleteYes. A million times yes.