It's Criminal

I'm not a violent criminal, but I just played one on television.

OK, the episode won't air until November, but I spent Monday evening and Tuesday afternoon shooting scenes for it.

Pro Model and Casting (Bethlehem, PA), the primary casting agent for CourtTV's Forensic Files, called me to portray a perp in the reenactment scenes of an upcoming episode. I had the opportunity to portray a lovely piece of human trash who raped and murdered a dry cleaner employee after trying to rob her (but only netting 3 bucks). Yes, he was caught and convicted. The episode will tell you how he left enough clues so a scientist could identify him when two eyewitnesses were not too sure.

Oh yeah, and I had to shave in order to more closely match the look of the perp I was to portray. I am now sporting the facial hair equivalent of a cry-for-help known as the fu manchu mustache. I'll try to post a pic. I think it's just about as bad as the regular mustache-only look I had to sport while I was part of the Montgomery Theater's production of The Grapes of Wrath in November/December of 2003. Seriously, I look like a crazed cabbie ... or some kind of porn star.

Other than the fu manchu, the toughest part of this assignment was the fact that the crime originally took place in Illinois ... in January! I had to wear a knit cap and jacket for most of the shoot. And it was mighty warm in the dry cleaners on Monday evening, particularly in the back room. Tuesday was a bit better temperature-wise thanks to a nice breeze; it helped to cool me off during the afternoon shoot, but it wreaked havoc with the "and - then - the - stocking - fell - out - of - his - pocket" scene.

This is the third or fourth time that Pro Model has called me with a potential acting gig, but it's the first time I have been able to actually follow through and work on the show. And now that I think of it, they have only ever called me to portray criminals. Sure, playing a villain is fun and all, but how come I never get called to play a heroic cop or clever detective? No, it's always, "You bear a striking resemblance to this dangerous and violent criminal who is thankfully behind bars."

But seriously...

Everyone involved in this gig was an absolute JOY to work with. I cannot recommend Pro Model or the Forensic Files crew highly enough. Well, yes, I can recommend them, and I do, but they're off the scale if you catch my meaning. Top marks.

I'll post more details later.


Update (1/1/2020): Some quick updates about this project:

• Episode was titled "A Clean Getaway."
• This episode originally aired on 10/21/2005 as Season 10, Episode 22.
• IMDb page for this episode is https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2616474/
• The episode was posted on YouTube last September.