Actor and producer Bren MacDonald talks about the second episode of Complacent Charlie.
I don't remember when the idea of doing a second episode came up; it might well have been the same day we filmed the pilot. What I can tell you is that within days Jeff had written two really funny follow ups, one involving an elevator and what ended up as the third episode.
And then the Vancouver riot happened.
I was working that night. A friend of mine was actually trapped in the crowd with a dying cell phone, and I had this feeling of helplessness as there was nothing I could do to help her. In the back of my mind was "Really? We're really doing this?". It just felt so predictable; a re-hash of a decade old story with no punchline.
Two days later we were filming.
Andrew's script resonated with me on several levels. I felt it highlighted the absurdity of the riots themselves without belittling the impact they had on people. It also gave an opportunity to have Charlie directly interacting with another character, even just over the phone. That was something I didn't think we pulled off as well as we could've in the first episode.
It took me a couple takes to get comfortable in the role, but I'm really happy with my performance.
On the practical side of things, Andrew achieved a subtle flicker effect when Charlie turned on the television by waving his fingers in front of a lamp. These types of solutions are at the core of the independent filmmaking; we could've easily done without, but the effort adds that extra little bit to the immersion.
Andrew William Sampson, as he likes to be credited, was the key player here; in addition to writing he was director, camera, and editor. Oh, and he also delivered a fantastic performance as the then-unnamed friend on the other end of the phone.
And Jeffrey Gerein was sound. He also played Phillip Guyman, a character so much fun that we've debated bringing him back in one way or another.
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