“We’d like to call you in for an audition . . .”

Suzanne Ryan, casting director for Law & Order who worked in the same office as Julie Tucker (the office is Lynn Kressel Casting), had a role come in of a Columbia University student who’s readying for a ski trip when he discovers with his girlfriend a dead body in the trunk of a car. It would be in the teaser of the episode–the first minute or so–one called “Surrender Dorothy.”

The audition was kinda funny. There they were, producers and director along with Suzanne for the audition, and I walked in and sat in the chair there to do my scene. I did it, then they had me stand and do it. I had to act like I was finding a dead body–funny to do, but serious acting stuff. The whole audition must have taken under two minutes. Camden Jill Carter, an intern who
worked at the office who also landed an audition as the girlfriend in the same scene, had an even faster audition–it seemed like thirty seconds.

After a few days’ wait, both Cami and I landed the roles in the teaser.

The episode aired Wednesday, April 26th, 2000. The scene, which went through looping (a process by which the actors redub or dub in new lines), proved more verbose than when we taped it; both Cami’s and my lines doubled from two to four.

The scene was so fast. The screen time was about 10 seconds, contributing a small amount to my Fifteen Minutes of Fame. If you blinked, you’d miss the scene, but regardless, Cami and I were on the TV, doing the scene, being viewed by millions of people.

The role made me eligible for the Screen Actors Guild, which I eventually joined. And I’ll get residuals for every time the episode is aired, and what with the popularity and the long run of the show, I’m very happy.

Episode #224, “Surrender Dorothy”

To see if the episode is on TV this week:
Click to check TNT’s upcoming episodes listings »