I actually got the
call to be on Prison Break on my last day on the set of Walking Tall: Lone
Justice. For most of my scenes in Walking Tall I was a Dallas Policeman. We had just broke for lunch, as I was eating one of the casting crew approached me and
said someone wanted to talk to me on his cell. I gave a confused look and took
the call. It was casting from Fox’s Prison Break. She said she had seen a photo
of me and casting told them of me. He then proceeded to tell me that they were
about to start shooting the second season of Prison Break and asked if I wanted
to work as a Fox River Correctional Officer for a few episodes. Then more other
“various” roles if I wanted throughout the season. With zero hesitation I said
yes. So I went to go finish my lunch. To my surprise the CD already told the
others and I came back to them telling me congratulations. Which was weird, but
I just said thank you and finished my lunch.
So after a long
day of shooting, we wrapped up. My final scene was my favorite. The cast and
crew thanked everyone and it was time to go home. For Walking Tall, I had a
mustache and goatee. But for Prison Break I really wanted to impress them. Not only
with my performance but with my look. I really wanted to look the part of a
Prison Guard. So I shaved my goatee off. I just kept my mustache and soul
patch. Didn’t look half bad if I must say so myself.
My call time was
6:00 am in McKinney, TX. This was for the Season Two premier. This episode
was called “Manhunt”. I was a Fox River Correctional Officer. I arrived at base
camp at 5:00 am. From my past experience on other sets, I find it best to always get
to set early. Better to be early than late. So I walk from the parking lot to
the dining area and wait for the casting agent to arrive. About thirty minutes later
she arrived. I then checked in and went to craft services and got something to eat.
They had a rented a building down the street from the set as “base camp”. So
the caterers were set up in there and there were tables etc. I sat down to eat
and some of the main cast joined me. I was eating with Dom Purcell, Peter Stomare,
Wentworth Miller, Amaury Nolasco, and a few others. They were really cool and
very nice to meet and talk to. One of the many great things I can say about
this production, they seem to feed you well. After I got through eating
I went over to wardrobe and got my costume then I headed to props. The
prop guy gave me everything I needed, like my badge, keys, gun belt,
sidearm, and shotgun. Everything I needed to become a Fox River Correctional
Officer. When I was through with wardrobe and props, I and a few others
were driven to the set.
This episode picked
up from the end of season one with Scofield and the others escaping from Fox
River and are now on the run. This day happened to be at a storage facility. This
particular storage facility in McKinney, TX in the middle of the Texas summer. On the show it was supposed to be in the winter in Oswego, IL. So all of the Fox River
Officers were all in thick heavy coats and long sleeve shirts. Lol Not exactly
a comfortable day. The escaped convicts were believed to be hiding in one
of the storage units. At first I was with Philip Van Lear aka C.O. Patterson and
Wade Williams aka Captain Brad Bellick. Then later we were joined by William Fichtner
aka Special Agent Alex Mahone.
The day was very
hot. But the other background people I was working with as well as Wade
and Philip, made it so much better. I even got complimented by the Assistant
Director. I was extremely nervous, especially with it being my first day
on this set, and I didn’t want to make a stupid mistake that might
jeopardize me coming back. I noticed almost all the other “background” was
getting yelled at by the A.D. “Assistant Director” and the Director for
not following directions. I was worried I was doing something wrong, so I
asked if everything I was doing was alright. Their exact words were “If we’re not
yelling at you, you’re doing a great job, keep it up”. Let me tell you, that
was a confidence booster. The main scene I was in I even got to improvise most
of it, and it made it on the final cut (even though, a lot of my screen
time was cut). So we continued do to our scenes, over and over and over
and over. It was so hot that day. Between each take the make-up ladies
would come by and put sun block on us (it helped, but just a little) and
make sure we were hydrated. So we did our final scene for the day and
wrapped it up.
Kevin Hooks
(director/producer) (You might know Kevin from the 70’s show “The White
Shadow”) thanked everyone for doing such a great job and even came up to just
me and asked me if I was a real cop in real life. Because of my mustache. Lol. Philip
and Wade came over and shook my hand and told me good job. I asked if I
could get a quick pic of them and they let me take a pic of the two of them
with my cell phone. I was talking to Philip a little and I said “maybe I
can get your autograph one day”, he said it would be an honor. All I had
was an index card, so he signed that and said it was a pleasure working
with me. It was an awesome day, especially for being my first day on this
set. Just a really awesome, hot, and great day. I knew that if all the days on
set where this good, I was going to have a great time.
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