STRICTLY ON BACKGROUND, PT. 23: "THE SINNER"

It's an axiom as old as show business itself: never work with babies or animals. But what if you find yourself acting with a baby animal? A cute baby animal at that? A baby animal at the wrong side of a knife blade? 

Well, it ain't called The Sinner for nothing.

The cult member relaxing off-camera.

It was my second time in three weeks working night- time scenes as a 1990s cult member on the cable series The Sinner. I would say my first appearance ended on the cutting room floor, but that would imply I was ever on camera. A few of us were pulled at the last moment and later sent home, while the lucky remaining extras worked until sunrise.

Both evenings we were filming at the Edith Macy Conference Center in Briarcliff Manor, a kind of ritzy suburb roughly an hour outside Manhattan. My first aborted appearance was at a firepit outside an old barn. This time was totally different: I was inside the barn. Now this was a challenge I could sink my teeth into.






And speaking of sinking my teeth into something, it

Soaking up the undeserved attention
of its co-stars after rehearsal.

was only when we arrived at the barn that we learned that our characters would be witnessing the ritual sacrifice of a calf. Burgers all around! 

As you can probably guess, the calf -- whose name and sex escape me -- got more attention than the stars of the show.  The women oohed and ahhed like they had given birth to the thing, while the guys marveled that you could take the best parts of our features and still not look as cute as this scene-stealing bovine. 

Unlike the rest of us background actors, this four-legged ham side of beef had an owner and the owner's assistant on hand (or is it on hoof?) to tend to its every need. We're rightly expected to give our all between "Action!" and "That's a wrap!" But the calf wants a lie-down? Take five, everybody! Make that ten!

It was only a week after the beginning of summer, so, in order to avoid the sunlight, we had to wait until after 8:30 p.m. to start filming. To add to the drama, an approaching thunderstorm threatened to postpone filming. Fortunately, it bypassed the immediate area, allowing us to work straight through before I arrived home at a decent hour -- 3:00 in the morning, which, I guess, is more decent than 4:00.

"... So let's hear it for the animal sacrifice!"

I was unfamiliar with The Sinner, so I can't tell you what my scene was all about -- other than, of course, sacrificing a calf. We were told to remove our glasses, either for artistic reasons or to prevent the lights from reflecting off our lenses. 

The scene starts with a shot of the calf entering the barn, followed by a crane shot of us cultists waiting for the big event. I can be seen in the middle of the top of the screen, arms folded, apparently doing my best Ed Sullivan impersonation.

Middle of the back row: Nosferatu in a t-shirt.

You never know how much of your mug is going to make final cut, so I was happy to be on-camera from different angles throughout the scene. Not wearing the glasses allows you to see my baggy eyes (it was past my usual bedtime) and utterly blank expression, which makes me appear I was thrown off the set of The Walking Dead for scaring the others.

Maybe that was the whole idea, because I'm seen at least two more times as the calf is brought to its demise.

I don't trust me from this angle...

...Or that one.

We were told to look like we were both sorry and thankful that it was giving up its life for us. But all I can see in my expression is a textbook example of a psychopath. An old psychopath. 

We were also instructed to place our hands atop the calf as it hit its mark. Being in the back row with the other taller extras, however, I could only place my hand on the shoulder of the person in front of me. So if you watch the video below, the hand in the lower right hand corner is mine. That is, if you can take your eyes off the calf.

And -- as if I have to explain -- the thing made it home that night alive and well.

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