This was my first day on set for season three. Even though I did plenty of episodes after this one, this will be my last post about Prison Break—well, maybe! Honestly, I think people might be tired of hearing about them by now, haha.
This production day picked up right after the finale of season two. At the end of that finale, I slammed the door behind Scofield, locking him inside Sona Prison. Season three opens right on the other side of that very door. It shows Scofield walking down a corridor filled with all kinds of people: huge brutes, druggies, and transvestites. As he walks by, he spots a bloody, half-naked Bellick on the floor. He then moves into the courtyard, where a crowd of prisoners is watching a fight that is about to break out under a crazy downpour of rain.
The premiere episode is called "Orientación." We shot multiple scenes for it that day, meaning we didn’t film in chronological order. Most of the time, productions aren't shot in order anyway, but let’s not jump too far ahead just yet.
This season introduced a totally different dynamic than season two. I played the same character in every single episode of season three: a Sona prisoner.
I arrived at base camp around 8:00 AM. This time, base camp was located right in the parking lot of our set location. The set for the prison courtyard was actually an old youth detention center near the corner of Harry Hines Boulevard and Market Center Boulevard in Dallas, Texas. As soon as production wrapped on the season, the entire building was leveled.
When I arrived, I found the casting assistant, and she took me to wardrobe. I collected my costume, which consisted of shorts, a shirt, and a pair of low-top Vans. Next, one of the makeup artists opened a jar of "movie dirt"—which, to my knowledge, is just specialized makeup formulated to look like actual mud—and applied it to my hands, arms, and face. I remember it feeling incredibly soft. They also spritzed my back, pits, and neck with water to make it look like I was trapped in a scorching hot environment. Anyone from Texas knows it really was that hot outside! Some of the actors brought their own little spritz bottles to spray their faces to mimic sweat. I didn’t have one, but Laurence Mason kindly gave me one of his. You might remember Laurence as Tin Tin from the movie The Crow.
All of our scenes that day took place in the courtyard, which was actually the detention center's old basketball court. The crew brought in tons of sand and even constructed a second story onto the structure. They even hired a professional graffiti artist to tag the walls. It looked absolutely awesome.
I got to work with some incredible people that day, including Wentworth Miller, Wade Williams, Robert Knepper, Robert Wisdom, William Fichtner, Laurence Mason, and Sala Baker. Yes, the Sala Baker who played Sauron in The Lord of the Rings—and he is truly one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. I really wish I had gotten his autograph, as I probably will never get that opportunity again.
There was so much happening on set that day that it would take way too long to break it all down. Because of that, I will just share the specific part that bridges the season two cliffhanger with the season three premiere.
If you remember, at the end of season two, I slammed the door to Sona Prison behind Scofield, locking him inside. On the other side of that door, the season three camera follows Scofield down the hallway. After walking past the crowd of people I mentioned earlier, he comes to a door that leads outside into the courtyard. Since it was raining outside Sona at the end of season two, it was naturally raining when he stepped into the courtyard.
As soon as he opens the door, he sees a massive crowd of prisoners running around in a circle and yelling. Inside that circle, Laurence Mason (playing Sammy, though you may know him as Tin Tin from The Crow) and another guy are about to throw down. Sammy throws down a chicken foot—and when the chicken foot hits the ground, it’s time to rumble. Between the pouring rain, the fight, and the cameraman right in your face, it was an awesome night to shoot. And all of that action happened before the opening credits even rolled!
Prior to filming the brawl, we actually shot what happens after the fight. The losing guy was dead on the ground, and everyone was either walking around him or stepping right over him, until they finally threw his body out the back door.
So, to make a long story short, here is how those episodes tie together through me: If you were to watch the season two finale and the season three premiere back-to-back in one continuous loop, you would see me as a guard locking Scofield into Sona, and then you'd immediately see me as a prisoner out in the courtyard! I also managed to make it onto the DVD menu for disc one, haha.
Thank you all for your time, and I hope everyone has an awesome day. I really hope you enjoyed reading about this small, unforgettable blip in my life!
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