*Record scratch* *Screen freeze*
Yup. That's me. You're probably wondering how I ended up in this situation.
I had the pleasure of being the father to this little girl. Unfortunately, I am no longer a father. I was one, though, for a brief 48 hours in June. But how's that for a clickbait title!?
For a while, I've been subscribed to an email list which sends out extras casting. Basically, when a TV show or commercial is filmed and they need random people walking around in the background or sitting in chairs drinking coffee, they'll cast extras for it. I applied for a "young adult Asian" extra role for an aerospace commercial, and surprisingly, I got it. (P.S. if you're interested in this, it's really easy money if you get casted!)
When I arrived on-site at 6am one morning, I was bused to the tarmac where I sat by another young male who does acting for a living, and an Asian family with an absolutely adorable 6 year old girl. The bus took us to a station where we were greeted by a host of free food, drinks, etc. For a college student/graduate, free food was more than appreciated. Also there were about 30 others of all ages, that were to be in the shoot. Among these people were talent they flew in from Australia and Europe (???) and people who have acted in small principal roles for TV shows and just looked the part of an airline crew.
I initially applied for the extras part, but when I got there, I was told they would use me in a principal role, as the father to the adorable girl mentioned above. Oddly enough, they'd use the girl's real mother in the shot, but they didn't cast the dad, who also happened to be there in person. So here I am getting my makeup and hair done (first time for everything!), and I'm told I need to dress like a European dad, to resonate with the audience they'll be broadcasting this to. They take me to the dressing trailer where two older women help me dress like a European dad, donning me in a dress shirt, a light blue vneck sweater, and some khakis.
I didn't think I looked like a dad.
Apparently, I looked the part enough. So after a long few hours, they hustle me to the plane and I'm getting on with my "wife" and my "daughter," both of whom are lovely people and a lot of fun to be around (thank goodness). Interesting point here- they actually shot the scene multiple times with "families" of different ethnicities. There was a white/Caucasian family, a middle eastern family, and then my family, the Asian fam. This is to target different audiences with their localized ads- something I never thought about.
So I'm on this brand new plane, and they have me sit in front of the window seat. You couldn't see outside the window because it was masked with translucent paper, and a giant light was shining through it so it looks like you're in the air flying. Next, they instruct the girl to start playing with the touchscreens in front of us, and use the controller. Before I know it, this Australian photographer is snapping photos of us, telling us to smile and look like a happy family.
Next, they had her run down the aisle holding a plane. This was one of my favorite shots, that unfortunately I no longer have access to. But she'd hold the plane over her head and run, run, run down the aisle and sprint into dad's arms. Yup. She ran into my arms.
The next day, after we finished a few more shots as a family, they moved me to a single seat and had me interact with stewardesses, many of whom were flown in from around the world. They'd have me sit there as I was handed a cup of coffee, and then smile. Then they'd cut, I'd give the cup back, and we'd repeat this.. Maybe 30-40 times. At the end of all these takes, I asked the stewardess if she'd done this before, and if it's normal to do so many takes. She just smiled and said it takes as long as it takes... Maybe my 39th smile was the one that did it.
Overall, this was an insane experience. I got called in as an extra, was thrust into a principal role as a father, and had completely new experiences I'd never thought I'd get to have. I got to be a father for a couple days, that was pretty neat. I got to see into the life of a fulltime actor/model, producer, and more. I got paid very handily as a principal, numbers which I would not believe were true if I didn't sign a contract saying it. And above all, I got to be a dad for a couple of days, which was really fun for me. 10/10 would do this again.
If you'd like to see the ad, click here!
Oh yeah, and Go Dawgs.