Sa'ar's brush with Stargate

[Sa'ar Chasm]

As most of you don't know, I'm gainfully unemployed right now (jobhunting with a Masters degree is profoundly unrewarding). Since I have so much free time, I decided to be an extra on a movie that's being shot in Kelowna. It's an indy film called The Beast of Bottomless Lake, based on our local lake monster, Ogopogo. The location shoot of the scene I was in wrapped at 1, so I offered my services as a general schmoe for the rest of the afternoon, since someone had said they needed more pairs of hands. I thought I'd be schlepping stuff around and otherwise participating in the magic of filmmaking, but instead I got a makeover and sent into the shot again as an extra. They went to considerable pains to make me look different from my earlier shot (hair gel, makeup, mascara...I don't think the stars got that much attention). They were trying to make me look like a geek (which shouldn't require all that much work), and sculpted my hair into this ridiculous comb-over. I said all I needed to complete the look was a pair of dorky glasses. Five minutes later, another extra shows up...with the exact same hairstyle and a pair of dorky glasses. I had a good time working on the film, even though I didn't get paid (this is a no-budget production).

Now, the Stargate connection. The star of this film is David Nykl, who plays Dr. Radek Zelenka on Stargate: Atlantis. He's a neat guy, very funny, and not suffering from any form of star ego. During the setup for one shot, the director was instructing the extras to do exactly what we had done earlier in the day. David chimed in with "Only better", complete with mock scowl. I cheekily saluted and said "Yessir!". At the end of the day, when I was allowed to pester him, I told him it had been nice working with him, or at least being in the same frame as him. Then I said I wish I watched Stargate, and he gave this profound sigh. That may not have been the best thing to say. he chatted with me and a couple of other extras for a bit, then shotgunned a ride back to the hotel with someone who was leaving then. I'll add him to the list of famous people I've met.

[Nate the Great]

You should've asked him to say something in Czech.

I really haven't met anyone famous. The most famous person I've even been in the same room with would be...sigh. I opened a door for the president of my university once and he said thanks, does that count?

[Nan]

Then I said I wish I watched Stargate, and he gave this profound sigh. That may not have been the best thing to say.

He's probably afraid of the inevitable typecasting that results form being on a popular SF series.

Also, the fact that it took a great deal of makeup to make you look like a dork warms the ol' cockles. ;)

[catalina_marina]

^Well, he may be a geek, at least he doesn't look like one. :p

[Celeste]

Hmm.. someone I've met who was famous. Oh! I know. When I was in Disney world I met Cinderella. BEAT THAT.

Actualy, in all honesty i've only met localy famous people. Like the Dancing Cop of Rhode Island (http://www.providencedancingcop.com/main.html). We were hunting Christmas trees and he was on the hay ride with us.

[Nate the Great]

People who are going to be insulted for having a scifi role thrown into their faces shouldn't accept the role in the first place. If I accepted a TV role (very unlikely), I'd assume that it was a role I wouldn't be offended for being identified with. It's that simple.

[catalina_marina]

I can imagine it may annoy you after a couple of years.

[Nate the Great]

And this is somehow unique to scifi actors?

[Sa'ar Chasm]

Well, the level of obsessive fanboyish is much higher in SF than it is in mainstream fandoms. People may change their hairstyle every week depending on how Jennifer Aniston was wearing it, but they don't go and hang out with other sitcom fans in convention centres and engage in the million and one endearing behaviours that set geeks so firmly apart from normal people.

[Nate the Great]

Oh, you're talking about fans, I'm talking about actors. Looks like one of our Babel Fish is on the blink.

[Sa'ar Chasm]

Well, the fans are going to be the ones throwing the actor's role in his/her face.

[Chancellor Valium]

Hmmm...I've met Tom Baker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Baker)...It was a somewhat intimidating experience. Partly because being 5'4 and 30 cm from a man who is 6'2 is generally intimidating, partly because he did. not. stop. talking. Nice fellow, though.

[Nan]

Well, the fans are going to be the ones throwing the actor's role in his/her face.

Plus casting directors and agents. They'll know your big role was Captain Android and you get stuck getting those kind of roles.

"Captain Android wants to play Rick Handsome? I don't see it. Naw, let's go with the lead from <i>Police Lawyer, M.D.</i>."

[Nate the Great]

I'm picturing the Captain Android action figure. Creepy.

[PointyHairedJedi]

Well, the fans are going to be the ones throwing the actor's role in his/her face.
It's completely differently in sports, of course.


Completely.

[catalina_marina]

Partly because being 5'4 and 30 cm from a man who is 6'2 is generally intimidating,

Now what's wrong with this post...

[Chancellor Valium]

Now what's wrong with this post...

...I'm not going to ask what's going on inside your head...

[Vedra]

You measured your heights in Imperial and the distance between you in metric.

That's weird.

[Nate the Great]

And this is difference from average Trek fare how?

[mudshark]

You measured your heights in Imperial and the distance between you in metric.

That's weird.

Unless I'm mistaken, it's fairly ordinary for Brits. They also buy their gasoline (sorry... petrol) and sodas (fizzy drinks, those) by the liter, then shop for vegetables priced per pound (lb.) or piss off to the pub for a pint.

[Sa'ar Chasm]

In Canada we measure everything in metric except ourselves.

[AKAArzosah]

Same in Australia - they try to get us to work in cm for heights, but no one ever does, except the police (ie, 'how tall was the offender?')

[Chancellor Valium]

You measured your heights in Imperial and the distance between you in metric.

That's weird.

Yeah. There've been numerous attempts to fully metricise the UK, but we still won't budge...

I didn't notice the incongruity before. You're right, that does look very strange...On the other hand, that should be fairly normal on this site :p

[Nate the Great]

Reminds me of an old Dave Barry story. He was at a radio station in Canada, and the weather man said that it was "eight." He knew this was obviously incorrect, so he asked the guy, who said it was really about forty. Then another guy said fifty. Suddenly the room was full of people shouting out their interpretation of "eight." :)

Of course the capper was when he said that the scientific definition was "chilly."

[Chancellor Valium]

There is no eight. It's in the box with the cat.