"America's Favorite Serial Killer" and Little ol' Me

WOOOOOHHHHOOOOOO! That’s the sound my life is making right now. Sometimes the Woo’s are full of elation, and sometimes the Hoo’s are full of exhaustion and anxiety. Either way, there hasn’t been a dull moment and lots of exciting things are happening. I just had a HUGE, gigantic, ENORMOUS, prolific, EXTRAORDINARY two weeks. Let me divulge.

I booked an incredible co-star role on Showtime’s super awesome (totally too scary for me) show, Dexter. It was rad. It was exciting. It was beyond fun. Here’s how it all came about. My manager submitted me for the quaint part on Friday and I went in to do a casting workshop with Helen Geier (such a hip hip girl, such a great great workshop) that Saturday morning. By Monday morning I was called in an audition on Wednesday. I went to the audition and saw that there were only a few women they were seeing for the role based on the sign in sheet (Awesome. Perhaps, I’ll stand out more that way???) and the only other person next to me was a man in his mid-thirties and slightly overweight. Hmmm … I’m absolutely used to this. I fall into that silly category where I most often audition alongside models, red heads, or cave people. Seriously. I auditioned for the role, left the room, and as per usual, I forgot about the audition. I did what I could and the rest wasn’t up to me. Thursday evening my agent calls. I BOOKED THE JOB! Yes, I yelled with delight into my agent’s ear. Yes, I’m sure my entire neighborhood heard me. Yes, I called my family relentless until they finally picked up the phone. It was a spectacular moment in my life. Absolutely, hands down, one that I will never forget.

Now, here’s the thing. I found out Thursday night and wasn’t shooting until Monday afternoon. Good grief. I had plenty of time to walk around, happy as a clam and living in the clouds. I also had enough time to get really nervous about it. My stomach was in knots. The character I was to play opposite of was nothing short of a legend. Two words. John. Lithgow. Oh, god. Really? My underarms immediately started to sweat and my stomach began to squirm. Let’s say I barely ate from Saturday night until after the shoot because my stomach refused to perform it’s natural given duties. Insert some deep breaths, a few sessions of meditation, and arriving to the set about a half hour early. Finally, it was time for me to enjoy being a working actress. WOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!

When I got to set I was immediately shown to my trailer where my Miami Metro police uniform was hanging. The excitement surged through my limbs as I eagerly stepped out of my mini skirt and my v-neck top, and stepped into the heavy threads of a cop’s uniform. They had to lop off about a foot and a half from the bottom of my pants, but the costume designer was brilliant. Those pants couldn’t have fit any more perfectly and I couldn’t have felt any cuter as one of Miami’s best, protecting the people from the likes of John Lithgow a.k.a The Trinity. I just reignited my ear-to-ear smile thinking about it.

“Jennifer, you’ve been invited to set.” I happily accepted that invitation. I was escorted to set where I met the AMAZING crew and one of the few female directors I’ve ever worked with, JS Clarkson. She was fantastic, kind and generous with her time. She has a slew of incredible credits working on television shows in the U.K. It was fantastic watching her work with John Lithgow, with myself, and observing her interactions with her D.P. and the entire crew. I really learned a tremendous amount by watching her work concisely, confidently, and creating a positive communication between herself, the actors, and the crew. What an easy environment for all to create and work. Poetry in the work place.

John Lithgow as a serial killer is horrifying. He’s such a profound actor of our time. His abilities have been recognized time and time again, and rightfully so. He’s one of the best. To watch him explore and play the minute he walked on set was fun and reassuring. His attentiveness to his work in the scene was unwavering, despite being dabbed with make-up, sounds coming from all directions, the lovely background actors staring so hard at you that it feels like they’ll break through your skin. Every minute of the scene was so fun to work with him on. It was short. It was sweet, and yet there was so much happening within every word, within every line, within every activity. It only makes me crave for more, more, more. Excuse me, but can’t we make the scene just a little bit longer? Why don’t we improvise this go around? What if we strike up a conversation about how lovely and typical Miami’s weather is? Oh, right. There’s a script and an entire episode to fulfill. Ok, next time.

This experience was nothing short of profound. It was like giving sugar to a diabetic child. I HAVE to have more. Except now I have to wait until the next thing comes along. The wooohoooo just got a little smaller and that’s okay. It makes the focus in my life that much more distinct and easy to attain. Keep the momentum going. Keep moving forward. Keep working on the projects that bring me delight, like my webseries with Emily Maya Mills and the upcoming AMAW showcase. These things become all the more important. They keep me busy, they keep me focused, and they keep me inspired and ready for that next step in my career. And my first co-star television experience will always be on a great show, opposite one of the acting community’s greatest actors of all time. No one and nothing can ever take that away from me. How glorious. I’ll snuggle up with the fond memories tonight, and hopefully not have a nightmare from the show’s terrifying subject matter.

Just in case you don’t have Showtime or didn’t catch tonight’s premiere, here’s the trailer. You can see in these few minutes how terrifying John Lithgow’s portrayal really is. Enjoy!