Today was my last day on what’s been an incredible first television experience for me. Half a season as a recurring character on Season 3 of ‘Prison Break’ has been a crash course in the biz, the craft, and in life.
I made a bunch of new friends, reunited with some old ones, and worked with some of the best in the business.
Robert Knepper, in particular, was a joy to watch. In lesser hands, the T-Bag character he crafted would have been flat, or a comic parody, who never would have escaped the first season. But Knepper makes choices that keep you glued everytime he’s on screen. And the writers rewarded his character with one of the most fascinating arcs of the whole series (Wade Wilson, who plays Captain Bellick, has the other one, IMHO).
Thanks to all the wonderful cast and crew who made my time on set such a blast, including LouAnn, who upgraded my trailer every chance she got (sweeet!); Liz, who made sure my coif was always, uh, coiffed; Jocko and Bryon, for keeping great dispositions under great pressure; James and the PA Posse for being masterful people wranglers; Kevin and Candice for excellent crafty; and the terrific directors: Milan, Karen, Bobby, and especially Kevin Hooks, for giving me my first TV break. Thanks also to Toni Cobb-Brock and Shannon Pinkston for even getting me in front of Kevin, and my agent Liz for landing me the audition opportunity.
My fellow actors- Davi Jay, Laurence Mason, Bob Wisdom, Manny Rubin, Wade Wilson, Wentworth Miller, and Robert Knepper- were welcoming and unselfish, and I thank them deeply.
Did I mention a special thanks to my wife Mary, who talked me into going? Yes, it’s true: I was about to blow off the audition before Mary convinced me to go. Yikes!!
See you guys on Monday, September 17, 2007, when PB 301 premiers on Fox!