I moved out to Los Angeles in 2005 and started doing background work, (extras) to make money while I tried to find an agent.
One of the first shows I worked on was Grey’s Anatomy. This show had ZERO reputation at the time… it was just starting out, and I didn’t know any of the stars by face and name. No one did.
I was at the wardrobe trailer getting my wardrobe selected by the costumes department. Extras bring wardrobe selections of their own clothes to set; this is requested by production. It can be a pain sometimes to lug around 3 full wardrobe options, but at least your clothes are clean, they fit perfectly, and they’re comfortable… after all, you bought them.
Anyway, I had a backpack with me at the time which I had set down on one of the wardrobe steps… it covered *maybe* 1/8 of the step. Heigl burst out of the truck and without heading down the steps, saw my bag and yelled at the top of her lungs, “STAIRS!!!!” Then she demanded to know whose bag it was. When I apologized and moved it, she proceeded to read me the riot act on how dangerous, inconsiderate, and worthless I was as a human being.
Even the wardrobe people looked embarrassed. Now, I don’t know what the story was about why she was in the wardrobe truck, or why she was pissed off, but she acted like she was God’s gift to acting and I had no clue who she was. I actually thought she was part of the wardrobe team because she was by the truck, but it became quickly apparent that she was an actress on the show.
Fast forward a bit through the day….
NICEST: Peter Horton
Peter Horton was probably best known as one of the cast members of the show, “Thirty-Something”, but to me, I really admired his work on a lesser-known show called “Brimstone”.
He was directing the episode I was working on after being yelled at by Katherine. The scene took place in a pub, and we were filming on location in Glendale, CA. Usually, there’s port-o-johns shipped in for the cast and crew to use when they need to run to the restroom, but this place had opened their restrooms to us.
I was in the restroom, at one of the urinals, (the great equalizer), when Peter came in and used the urinal next to me. I recognized him, and in a moment of breaking decorum, (extras aren’t supposed to talk to the cast or crew until spoken to), I told him I thought he was doing a great job filming that day and that I really liked him in Brimstone.
He laughed, “Whoa, that’s a blast from the past!” and we talked for a few minutes in the restroom.
I can’t stress how unique this is. First, crew and extras are segregated. Extras are the low end of the totem pole, to be seen and not heard. Add to that, the demands on set, (especially for TV), are intense… there’s a lot of work that needs to be done and the director is a key component of it.
For the director of the episode to take a leak and end up spending 8–10 minutes listening to one of his extras while on a restroom break on set, laughing, swapping some stories, and then, encourage that young performer to stick with it, have fun, and keep that sunny disposition, (one of my key features), is a real gift in this town.
I was dead serious about my compliments. He was a great director… he was warm, focused, he worked with the actors on their process, and he had a great eye for what needed to happen in the frame. He was patient and gracious, and I have no doubt that his contributions helped Grey’s get on its feet.
I learned a very important lesson that day: people are people, no matter what job they are in. Some people are really cool… and some aren’t. All you can really do is be the best person you personally can be, and learn to appreciate the good over the bad.
I don’t think much about Katherine Heigl, but I do think about that quick conversation with Peter Horton and the example he set all the time. I’ve met some really classy actors and actresses since, but Peter really did set the bar pretty high on what it meant to work hard and yet still find some time to be a considerate, gracious human being.