This blog includes spoilers for the first episode of Pluribus. It describes my experience as a first-time background actor and will include some thoughts on seeing Vince Gilligan and Rhea Seehorn in action.
Introduction
I am a writer. By any objective measurement I am not successful as a writer, but success is subjective in my worldview and so I am a writer. My day job for thirty years has been a rewarding career in care support and system(s) change for individuals with developmental disabilities, the elderly, the caregiving workforce, and caregiver family members. Still, in my heart, is a love of storytelling in all formats. As I went through the experience of being a background actor on Pluribus, I did what writers do. I observed, listened and composed some notes.
Acting? I took a drama class in high school and two college electives including Movement for Actors, but I never joined a community theater group or aspired to act.
No one who knows me would be surprised to find me in a bar drinking whiskey while listening to a country band. You can glimpse me doing that in my first acting background experience in the premier of the series Pluribus.
The surprising thing is me on the dance floor in the terrifying scene where everyone is frozen and mildly shaking.
I watched the episode as soon as it dropped. I was nervous, then relieved and then hypercritical of myself. I do not expect this to launch an acting career, but I am having trouble finding the “chill” in being a small part of this series. I am a huge fan of science fiction and my favorite television series of all time is The X Files. My friendship with other fans is a significant part of my social network. How could I be chilled about having even the smallest of parts in a science fiction series created by, in an episode written and directed by, the great Vince Gilligan? Yes, I am a fan of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, but this is a Vince Gilligan science fiction series!
My Motivations and Expectations of The Experience
I am a single woman who never had children. I had been a workaholic my entire life. In the post COVID world with an awareness that upward career movement was unlikely at my age, I decided to stop being a workaholic and to be grateful that I could sustain myself financially in meaningful work with flexible hours working mostly remotely. Restructuring my approach to work was a healthier lifestyle choice for me but there is a loss of purpose with giving up the drive. I am fortunate but aware that my “shelf life” is closer to its expiration date than I would like. At the start of 2024, I was about to turn 63 and was trying to convince myself that I still had relevance and opportunities for personal growth and new adventures. I was determined that my birthday gift to myself would be to do SOMETHING that would convince me I had a meaningful life ahead. A Better Call Saul social media fan account I follow posted a call for background actor submissions and said it might be for the new Vince Gilligan science fiction series. My thought at the time was that I would be sitting on a park bench as someone walked by or passing someone on a street. I had heard it could be tedious and boring work. Still, I might get a glimpse of Vince Gilligan directing. It would be proof that I could try something new. I took a selfie and sent in my information.
The Audition
First was a pre-screen phone call. They asked about experience and skills, but not in the acting area but in areas of physical exercise. I will not list the specific questions because I am not sure what future episodes might have. At some point I said something like “I am a plus size woman in my 60s so I would not expect that I would be doing any action hero type stuff, but I am healthy for my age. I do yoga. I take walks. I dance. That is about it for physical activities.” The woman was nice, chuckled and said “well, come audition and we will see.”
I had not expected auditioning for background. It seemed unlikely, based on what their prescreening questions that I would have a chance. At first, I talked myself out of it. Still, the nagging thought kept coming that I would not have new adventures unless I tried new things. So, I talked myself back into it. It was on a Friday afternoon. I did not have anything else planned. It was a few blocks from where I lived. Why not? Still, I was so nervous I had to put on a persona and become someone else just to audition. I bleached some pants, wore my psychedelic David Duchovny music shirt, and dyed my hair a less natural shade of red. As I walked to the audition, I passed some high school kids on the bus stop who said “Oh, your pants are so cool” and “Look at her hair” and “Oh you have it going on.” That elevated me and gave me confidence that this person I had become for this audition could do this.
I completed an NDA (since the episode I filmed has aired I can now talk about the experience). The only information about the series we were told is that it was a science fiction series. We audition in groups between five to ten. Nito Larioza taught us to do three movements and after practicing as a group, the audition was individually doing the moves while Nito recorded it on a phone. The movements were shaking, falling, getting up and walking with a feeling of being happy and light. During practice Nito told me to bring the seizure movement down by about 10%. He told all of us we did not have to fall to the floor. We had a large pad to fall on but there were also pads built up at various levels so we could fall and sit, lean, or lie down. So, at “123” I walked on the pad and then on “shake” I shook while walking and then I thought I would fall onto a built-up area, but when he said “Fall” something clicked for me and I dropped to my knees on the floor and then slid from my knees sideways to the floor. I was proud of myself. Then on “walk” I got up and walked trying to imagine I was at a Grateful Dead concert. After he said cut, he was like “OKAY” and I felt like I had done good. I did not think I would get a role but I felt like I had taken a vacation from myself. I was very much in the moment being someone else and that was pleasant. It was worth the time to audition.
Rehearsals
Rehearsals started in February 2024. In the first rehearsals, no other information about the series was disclosed. We had to commit to the two days of filming and give them dates we were available to rehearse. One of the dates for filming was on my birthday which seemed like fate given my motivations.
Most background roles, as I understand it, do not require audition or rehearsals. Throughout the rehearsal experience the other background actors kept saying how special this was including that we were “bumped up” in pay as specialty movement actors. We did get pay for rehearsals days as well as filming.
We started each rehearsal with movement exercises which reminded me of my college Movement for Actors class. That was very enjoyable. As we rehearsed, things changed. We went from having seizure type movements to being jerkier in our movement. We practiced blinking our eyes rapidly and not blinking our eyes at all. One of the early things we did was to practice shaking sitting down doing our own thing and using props if we wanted. I grabbed lipstick out of my purse and, as I put it to my lips, started shaking. It fell to the ground and Nito who was recording said the director would love it. Some people listed as hospital practiced more coordinated actions in unison. I was listed as bar from the beginning. Then we had separate practice days for the bar and for the hospital. At some point I understood that the hospital scene was more complex and “big” and that the bar scene would be less people, less complex, but the impact would be the first scene of the changed world. As we got further into rehearsals we started to block the scene. There were frequent changes. We would practice and Nito or his assistant would record it and then we would wait for the word back from the mysterious director to whom the video was sent. Then things would change again and so on. On the rehearsal on February 16, 2024, we got the verification that the director was Vince Gilligan.
At first as we were blocking in rehearsals, we picked our own positions. I wanted to be on the dance floor. Harry was my dance partner. We were told that Vince would move people around as he wanted. This was just a starting point.
An interesting thing to me was that there was another series filming in Albuquerque at the time and many of the extras were also doing extra work on that series. They spent 14 hours on that set and then came to rehearsal for this series. The life of a working actor! From my perspective there were two types of professional actors in my background group. There were people who wanted to move into other roles. My fellow actors included exceptionally talented dancers, people who worked in stunts and one who had reoccurring background characters in other series. Then there were mostly older people who, in their retirement, made their living doing background work. I learned having different older cars that were right for different eras was a way to get extra work and another was to do stand-in work. Harry said he did a day or two as a stand in for the character of Mike in Breaking Bad/ Better Call Saul. These actors are people who do this every opportunity they could and made a living at it but without expecting to advance in the industry. This was a unique opportunity for both groups of people. Then there was me who simply wanted to have a new life experience.
As we got closer to filming more people started saying “this is your first time?” I wondered if there might be some resentment that I was there, but not “serious” about being an actor. I also might have been projecting my own feelings of inadequacy. At one point during the blocking process, I was told to freeze mid twirl. I realized my face would not be on camera. I was upset a bit, but then I told myself to remember my reason for being there and to be grateful. Then Nito said Vince did not like that and wanted to experiment with myself and Harry falling into each so we would be holding each other up. My face might be towards the camera after all. It was surprising to me how much I wanted that even as I kept expecting to be told not to return after every rehearsal. I struggled with some of the movements as they changed. The jerky stage was harder for me than seizing. Keeping my eyes wide open without blinking for a sustained period was impossible. I was not natural at this, and rehearsals were not a lifetime of training.
The real excitement and pressure came when Nito started “playing” the main actor (Rhea Seehorn) running through the staging while filming with his camera. This was our confirmation we would in a scene with her. We also knew that we would be dancing as she left the bar and when she came back the world would have changed. I do not know about others, but I felt a weight. I had expected a background role sitting on a park bench as someone walked by, but this scene was going to be important for this episode and for this series. I still did not understand why I was allowed to be part of it.
On Set
I became friendly with another background actor, Gaynor, (seen in the scene sitting in a chair and shaking) who picked me up at my casita and dropped me off each day. It was nice to have someone I was friendly with as part of this experience. We went to a base camp and shuttled back and forth to the location which was Vernon’s Steakhouse.
One thing about wardrobe. We got an email asking to dress in Western bar clothing and to bring choices. The shirt I am wearing in the scene is a second choice. I wore to set my first choice which was a bright yellow color. The wardrobe folks immediately said “did you bring a second choice?” I had not a clue I couldn’t wear my first choiceshirt because it was Pluribus yellow. In fact, the working name of the production was Wycaro.
The first night was more typical background work. It was the scene where Rhea Seehorn and Miriam Shor are sitting at the bar talking. We pretended to make small talk, drink whiskey (tea) and hold hands. Then we had a cue to get up and dance as Rhea and Miriam walked through the bar, to the lower area and out the door. They did so many multiples takes at the bar that I had the dialogue memorized. Even though I knew I was not on camera I had fun “playing” to be prepared in case we did make it on camera. I was trying to make sure I had a rhythm. At this line I pick up my whiskey. At this point I grabbed Harry’s hand.
After our lunch break, the camera was set up in the lower dance floor area and Vince Gilligan was shooting the background actors as “Carol and Helen” were going over the dialogue at the bar. I heard an associate director asked Vince Gilligan why he was shooting from this direction and he said that if he could show some of the background actors, the next scene will have more impact. After the cut he told all the background we had done an amazing job and then as he walked up behind me to talk to someone on the upper level, he said, “good job” and gave me a quick pat on the back. Then he filmed us dancing. I wish at least one shot of everyone up and dancing was part of the episode because I think that would have set up the shot where Carol walks back in more strongly.
It was a long tedious filming day, but it was also quite exciting to be on a set where Vince Gilligan was directing Rhea Seehorn. His approach during this scene was incredibly low keyed. He would say things to Rhea like “enjoy that word more when you say it” or “play with that sentence a little.” He prompted more than directed in a way. There was a point during the two days when he told her “That was a really tough scene, and you knocked it out of the park.” That might have been coming in from the parking lot scene. There was a moment as she was walking out of the top part of the bar he told her she was walking too fast because he wanted viewers to notice the breaking news on the television screen. The breaking news segment was prepared and playing as they were walking. The footage was not added post filming. Carol and Helen were not supposed to notice it though and that’s why Carol stepped on something or was adjusting her shoe.
Before the first day/night of shooting was over we did a blocking of the shaking scene. He tells Rhea that he knows she is exhausted, but he wants her input on the blocking. The AD said that she only had 15 minutes left (because of new SAG rules). He is so respectful of her. He says he wants her to walk through it once and then the next day they will practice it with her stand- in so she can have a later start. He knows the next two days are ambitious filming day, but he really feels like her input is important on this scene. So, she walks through it once and it is a wrap on my first day on set.
Up to this point I have not talked with Vince or Rhea. I am trying not to be too obvious of a fangirl, but on day two we are where his attention is and so I tell him that I am a fan. I say something lame like “it’s an honor to be directed by you” and I thanked him for his work in Albuquerque. We talked about crime. I told him my car was stolen a few months earlier. He is very humble. Instead of saying “I” he says “we” referring to the production crew always as part of the success.
We rehearsed with Rhea’s stand-in. They are going to film this as a one shot first. Part of the blocking issue is that if the camera follows Rhea around Harry and I, he will be shooting her back some of the time, but it would be too tight for her and the camera to walk in front of us. He must walk in front of us and catch her coming on the other side. There is discussion and blocking of that to decide what is best, but that is why my face is in close frame. Nito told me after a couple of takes to keep my face down since the camera would be coming so close.
The other blocking thing is that if Rhea walks directly from the server with the shaking beer into the room, she blocks the fall of the two women on the dance floor, so you can see a subtle move to the right as they fall before she walks fully in.
When Rhea started to film with us, she made a speech. She introduces herself. She says that Vince Gilligan’s signature style is that, in whatever world he created, the world and the character must seem real to life even if the storyline itself is far out there. The characters should look and act like how real people look and would act in that situation and there are interesting looking characters in real life but very few glamorous beautiful people and that is the same signature look he wanted for this scene.
I then surmised for the first time why I was there and why I continued to be in the shot despite my struggles. I was an interesting looking character – not a glamorous or beautiful one and for whatever reason – my age, my size, my shortness -he wanted a person who looked like me in the shot.
We do a couple of takes with Rhea Seehorn. Vince Gilligan changes some people around. He asks us what he is missing and several people pointed out a woman on the ground was dancing while holding a glass of wine. So, he brings out a wine glass with wine ( they used watered down prop blood) pouring out. He tries to move people so the scene has as many people as possible and still makes it look like everyone froze in their positions while dancing. We do one practice with the changes. Then we filmed again and I swear, even with my face down, I felt a chill knowing how good that take was. Vince walks out and says ”well, we should just print that and call it a day.” I think it might have been the one used based on the configuration of the room. But we spent a few more hours filming.
At some point Vince Gilligan just seems like a joyous kid having fun making everything spookier. At one point he says, “This is so freaky deaky.”
Eventually we took a break so they could film another scene. We come back about four hours later to shoot the scene from different angles and with different closeups in case, I guess, instead of doing a one shot they wanted to edit it differently. I think I heard Vince Gilligan say something like it’s better to film differently after shooting a one shot so in editing you weren’t tied the one shot. Perhaps he has had that experience. Then at the end Rhea Seehorn said, “can we have a round of applause for the background actors” and that was a wrap on my filming experience.
Conclusion:
I think the lesson for me is that I wanted to know if I could have new adventures and so I took an opportunity to be a background actor in a Vince Gilligan science fiction series. It became much more than I expected. It was an experience I will always remember. As I look towards 65 next year I am not concerned if new meaningful experiences or life adventures will come my way despite my age. Instead I know new experiences will come my way and it might be because of my age or some other aspect of who I am, the part of me that makes me an individual and not another face in a crowd. Isn’t it proper this knowledge came through filming a series which explores the meaning of individuality?