STRICTLY ON BACKGROUND, PT. 47: "LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT" (SEASON 25, EPISODE 2)

Unlike years previous, the summer of 2022 was a busy one for background work. Much of it was for movies or cable and streaming series that haven't aired yet. 

One exception was NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. This was my first summertime job to air -- not counting a ridiculously brief appearance on Law & Order: Organized Crime as the patron or owner (it kept changing) of a downtown happenin' bar. The only reason my wife recognized me was because, er, she's my wife.  

News you don't wanna
use.

This time, however, I knew I'd have better luck in my role as a reporter, with microphone in hand, for the fictional TV station WNYP. (Considering I was a fictional reporter, it only made sense.) And what started out as a one-day job turned into three. They love me! Or, more accurately, the filming went longer than expected. 

We worked at the SVU studio located at Chelsea Piers along the Hudson River. (As I might have mentioned in an earlier piece, the location is no secret, but good luck just popping in for a selfie with the SVU gang.) The scene was the trial of a young pop star arrested for sexual assault. 

The first shot filmed was Detective Rollins (played by Kelli Giddish) exiting an elevator with the victim, while surrounded by cops protecting them from the pop star's angry fans. It was just as chaotic as it was supposed to look. I was concerned of either pushing someone over as I tried to shove my mic into Giddish's face, or getting knocked over myself. 

And you can't see my microphone, either.

Yet even with several takes, my moment in the sun didn't make the final cut. It was only when we filmed Rollins making her way out of the courtroom through the angry crowd that I was just about visible. How was I supposed to keep my TV reporter credentials with appearances like this?

Looks like we got two sleepyheads here.

At least inside the courtroom I could be clearly seen in action, jotting down notes in my pad. And just to go all Method, I really was writing what was going on with the characters. Unfortunately, you really can't see me writing, so it looks like I'm having periodic bouts of narcolepsy throughout the scene.

On the left. At least they got my good side.

The day before -- but, in the episode, later on -- I had been placed directly behind Kelli Giddish and Mariska Hargitay in another courtroom scene. Now this was going to be some kind of juicy camera time. 

Too bad they reshot it, as they did every scene. And in the take that aired, I was sitting further back, out of camera range. It was only when the gallery exited that I briefly made it onscreen. My guess is that someone decided they'd had enough of my handsome face already.

Other than the aforementioned Organized Crime, SVU is the one network series I worked on over the summer. As of now, all my non-network appearances -- if they make the final cut -- will likely have to wait until 2023. ( I worked on two streaming series over a year ago that still haven't aired.) There's a good chance I'll hear from the Law & Order folks (or, rather, the casting agency) in a few weeks for another round with Mariska and friends. This time, I promise to make sure I look awake the whole time.

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