1 I Got Killed on Spike TV's '1000 Ways to Die' Mon Sep 27, 2010 7:15 pm
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In case you're not familiar with the Spike TV show "1000 Ways to Die," it revolves around people who have died in incredibly stupid/bizarre ways.
I previously appeared on the show after answering a Craigslist ad as a prank and pretending to be an cross-dresser named KiKi. Well, I must have done a really good job, because for the new season, I was asked by the production crew to come back on the show as a different character -- and this time, I got to die.
I was brought to L.A. to hone my acting chops, portraying a mafia informant who gets riddled with bullets.
Keep reading to hear more about my second stint on the show and see shots of me in action.
I arrive on set in downtown L.A. A sea of production bustle is taking place outside a second story parking lot. So far, no one has died yet.
"Keep him on ice," states the production manager using TV talk.
"Does my character have a name?" I ask the show's publicist, as I try to mentally prepare into my role.
"No he's just known as the mob informant," she replies.
"Can I call my character 'Greg,' as in Greg-the mob informant?"
Approved. I'm then brought to wardrobe where I soon learn the major difference between mob informant Harmon (aka "Greg") and real life Harmon: Mob informant Harmon wears a gray shirt. (There was some talk of a "long-sleeved, blue shirt" but an executive decision was made that the mob informant character is better served in a short-sleeved gray shirt.) Looking into a mirror at the new me, I boldly state: "The shirt really sells my Greg, the mob informant, character."
Better news: My mob informant role is being expanded. I'm no longer the mob informant who gets shot. I'm now the mob informant who drives a very large sedan-a decisions made after producers confirm that I know how to drive. With my expanded role, I'm to maneuver the car out of the parking garage, at which time two mafia hitmen come around the corner, pull out guns and fire at me. As irony is served, a bullet ricochets off the car and kills one of the hitmen. The other actors look far more mafia than me; I basically look like myself -- but in a gray shirt.
"They are ready for you now," the PA says, as I take my place on set behind the wheel of the large sedan. "What's my motivation?" I ask the director, being that this is the type of thing that actors say. "You're an informant who gets shot at," he explains as I nod my head.
I reverse the car to the starting point and wait for the director to call "action." Then I pull the car down the exit ramp. The mafia hitmen come out. I look confused. When they pull out their guns, I then look scared. Confused first, then scared -- this is called "acting." I then floor the gas pedal and execute some mean amateur stunt driving, which includes bottoming out the car. (Way to die 1,001: accidentally slamming a large car into a TV production crew.)
Between takes I request a Coke to be brought to me and throw a tizzy when it's not -- threatening to walk off set, if my demand is not made. Fortunately for the entire shoot, the Coke is brought to me. For the blood money shot, tubes are fitted under a tracksuit to spray thick, red blood.
"Do you want crazy blood or realistic blood?" asks the blood wrangler. "I'd say the bloodier the better." True, when it comes to "1000 Ways to Die," bloodier is better.
Harmon Leon is a journalist, author, filmmaker and stand-up comedian.The new season of Spike TV's 1000 Ways to Die kicks off on Tuesday on Tuesday, September 14 at 10:00pm ET/PT on Spike TV.]
I previously appeared on the show after answering a Craigslist ad as a prank and pretending to be an cross-dresser named KiKi. Well, I must have done a really good job, because for the new season, I was asked by the production crew to come back on the show as a different character -- and this time, I got to die.
I was brought to L.A. to hone my acting chops, portraying a mafia informant who gets riddled with bullets.
Keep reading to hear more about my second stint on the show and see shots of me in action.
I arrive on set in downtown L.A. A sea of production bustle is taking place outside a second story parking lot. So far, no one has died yet.
"Keep him on ice," states the production manager using TV talk.
"Does my character have a name?" I ask the show's publicist, as I try to mentally prepare into my role.
"No he's just known as the mob informant," she replies.
"Can I call my character 'Greg,' as in Greg-the mob informant?"
Approved. I'm then brought to wardrobe where I soon learn the major difference between mob informant Harmon (aka "Greg") and real life Harmon: Mob informant Harmon wears a gray shirt. (There was some talk of a "long-sleeved, blue shirt" but an executive decision was made that the mob informant character is better served in a short-sleeved gray shirt.) Looking into a mirror at the new me, I boldly state: "The shirt really sells my Greg, the mob informant, character."
Better news: My mob informant role is being expanded. I'm no longer the mob informant who gets shot. I'm now the mob informant who drives a very large sedan-a decisions made after producers confirm that I know how to drive. With my expanded role, I'm to maneuver the car out of the parking garage, at which time two mafia hitmen come around the corner, pull out guns and fire at me. As irony is served, a bullet ricochets off the car and kills one of the hitmen. The other actors look far more mafia than me; I basically look like myself -- but in a gray shirt.
"They are ready for you now," the PA says, as I take my place on set behind the wheel of the large sedan. "What's my motivation?" I ask the director, being that this is the type of thing that actors say. "You're an informant who gets shot at," he explains as I nod my head.
I reverse the car to the starting point and wait for the director to call "action." Then I pull the car down the exit ramp. The mafia hitmen come out. I look confused. When they pull out their guns, I then look scared. Confused first, then scared -- this is called "acting." I then floor the gas pedal and execute some mean amateur stunt driving, which includes bottoming out the car. (Way to die 1,001: accidentally slamming a large car into a TV production crew.)
Between takes I request a Coke to be brought to me and throw a tizzy when it's not -- threatening to walk off set, if my demand is not made. Fortunately for the entire shoot, the Coke is brought to me. For the blood money shot, tubes are fitted under a tracksuit to spray thick, red blood.
"Do you want crazy blood or realistic blood?" asks the blood wrangler. "I'd say the bloodier the better." True, when it comes to "1000 Ways to Die," bloodier is better.
Harmon Leon is a journalist, author, filmmaker and stand-up comedian.The new season of Spike TV's 1000 Ways to Die kicks off on Tuesday on Tuesday, September 14 at 10:00pm ET/PT on Spike TV.]