Many thanks to the producers of the CBS cop show "Blue Bloods" and to my part-time/intermittent employer Central Casting for the opportunity to be a part of (however brief an appearance) last night's episode "Framed." (see the picture above; that's me to the right, on a near-collision course with actor Will Estes, who plays Officer Jamie Reagan, far left of the screen).
As a background actor (more commonly known as an extra), there's always the risk of merely being a speck or a blur on the screen or, even worse, unseen in a scene. Strangely, I was thrilled to be visible even for a mere three seconds (see the 19:57-20:00 mark in the episode). More importantly, as someone interested in the creative production process, personally I derived great pleasure taking a day-trip some months back to Greenpoint, Brooklyn, where on-set I met some great people (such as the older gent with his hands on his chin in the photo above) while checking out the sprawling Blue Bloods studios and the surrounding neighborhood.
The previous time I had been "on" the show, the camera panned the scene where I was playing a "soccer dad" at the edge of a playing field; ultimately, I may have been the only one on the planet earth to known I was on the show, as I had raised my hands to the sides of my head when "my" team lost, almost completely eradicating me from view (see: Blip on the Screen: My "Extra" Ordinary TV"Debut"). In a separate scene I had been sitting my car, delighted to have stars Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg, Brigitte Moynahan, and Len Cariou standing next to me as I sat in my Hyundai Elantra -- only to have, in the final cut, the cameras pointing in front of and behind and away from my car!
Likewise, my brief appearance in the final seconds of a Law & Order: SVU episode was anticlimactic, but was worth every second of the sweltering August heat to be a part of it ( see: "You Have Got to Start Somewhere.") Coincidentally, a segment of the Blue Bloods "Framed" episode --the segment where Donny Wahlberg's character meets with his attorney near the steps of the New York State Courthouse in Foley Square -- was filmed in the very spot where I had made my microscopic debut on Law & Order: SVU
Looking forward to returning to Greenpoint on a pleasure trip, exploring this traditionally Polish-American neighborhood and its environs, camera in hand, with my dear wife, Jen. This time, however, I'll get to actually eat some of the goodies at Syrena Bakery, where my scene was filmed, rather than staring at them for hours.
