This was my last time on set for season two. It was the final episode of the season, and I had a short scene. My journey this season had come full circle. I was originally approached by casting to play a guard in the Panamanian prison, Sona—which, coincidentally, is also the name of the episode. At first, I was a little concerned about taking the role, simply because of how the previous episode in Mexico went. But of course, I said yes. I mean, who would really say no to an opportunity like this?
The scene took place in the worst of the worst prisons in the world: The Federal Penitentiary of Sona, which was loosely based on the Brazilian Carandiru Penitentiary. In reality, "Sona Prison" consisted of three separate locations. We used the old meatpacking plant behind the Fort Worth Stockyards for exterior shots, a youth detention center off Harry Hines Boulevard in Dallas for the courtyard shots, and The Studios of Las Colinas for the cells and interior shots.
I arrived at base camp around six o'clock in the evening. This time, base camp was located in a Fort Worth Stockyards parking lot, not far from one of my favorite spots, Riscky's BBQ. After parking, I checked in with the casting assistant and headed to wardrobe and props. I changed into my uniform and received my prop: an AK-47 machine gun. The cool thing about this production was that they used real guns, modified so they could not be fired.
While waiting for the crew to set up the cameras, I noticed William Fichtner walking around the parking lot. I had been a fan of his since Grace Under Fire. I had only worked with him on two other episodes of Prison Break, and he was usually so busy that I didn’t want to bother him. However, since this could be my last episode on the show, I didn’t want to miss my chance. I asked him if he would sign an autograph.
He said, "Sure, do you have a photo or something?"
I told him it was in my car.
He replied, "Go get it and I’ll sign it before we start."
I ran to my truck to grab the picture, and he signed it for me. Luckily, he signed it right then; the moment I put it back in my truck, we were called to the set.
The set wasn’t very far away, and we easily could have walked. Instead, we all piled into a van and were shuttled over. The drive was short, and when we arrived, director Kevin Hooks came over to break down the scene with us. In the scene, Scofield and Mahone (Wentworth Miller and Bill Fichtner) have been taken into custody and are being transferred into Sona Prison.
Just as Kevin finished briefing us, two massive water tankers pulled up. They parked out of the camera frame. By this time, night had completely fallen and it was pitch black. The crew hooked up the rain rig to the trucks. For the shot, two different "Sona" vans drove up, one carrying Scofield and the other carrying Mahone. They stepped out and caught sight of each other. Mahone was led one way, while Scofield was escorted to the main door. That is where yours truly was waiting, machine gun in hand, ready to open the heavy door and slam it shut behind him.
It was a very quick scene that took only a few hours to shoot. However, with the artificial rain pouring down, it felt much longer. That water was freezing! On the bright side, I did get paid a bump for getting wet.
To pass the time between setups, Wentworth and I peered inside the building. We were only filming on the exterior, so we didn't actually need to go indoors. But while waiting for a camera angle change, we stepped inside a bit to check it out. Because we weren't filming interior shots there, the building had no lights. We could only see as far as the illumination from the outdoor production lights could reach. Man, it was creepy. It was all concrete and covered in graffiti. I got a sudden chill, like someone was watching us.
Eventually, the crew set up to capture the shot of Scofield walking in and me slamming the steel door. (It wasn't actually steel; the sound effects were added later, haha!) Then, the camera panned up to the name of the prison above the entrance. Kevin ran about four takes of that before we finally heard, "Cut! Check the gate."
The shot was good. "Cut the water," Kevin called out, clapping his hands. "Great job, everyone!" The crew brought us towels to dry off, and we headed back to wardrobe. It was another successful day on set.
I will probably only write one more of these entries. The next day I am on set will be for the premiere episode of season three. There is a pretty cool connection between the season two finale and the first episode of season three.
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