Two weeks after we'd gotten her, I get a call from my then agent. Seems that they were filming a Blue Cross commercial in Philly and they needed background actors with dogs. I called the number that they gave me and booked the job. They didn't need a "professional" dog, just a normal one. So I found myself on Kelly Drive with Princess, playing a dog walker in the park. It was a nice warm day, and Princess enjoyed being out and about with everyone. Unfortunately she didn't make the final cut, partly because they used me in another shot. Sigh.
It was then that I realized just how much of a people magnet this dog really was. Normally I go onto set and I settle into a chair and hang out until called for. Not this time. The crew, the kid actors and their mothers, and hot girls who wouldn't talk to me on a bet, all wanted to pet and talk to this dog. She got so much attention, it was a little mind blowing. By the end of the day, between the attention in holding and the walking on set, she was exhausted. I drove home with a snoring dog in the back of my car. She didn't even stir when I cranked up the radio, which was playing Maynard Ferguson at the time.
It would be years later until she was called again. I booked a day with her recently on "Fiona's Tale", aka "The Amazing Spider-Man". The casting notice specifically asked for people with a dog, and I duly submitted. They called me and asked if I had the dog. I said yes, and they were happy. I went to NY for a fitting, and on the call sheet next to my name, it said "Man with Dog". When they called on Friday to confirm, I got ready for us to go up to Brooklyn on Sunday. I arrive on set and the first thing the PAs say to me was, "Why did you bring your dog?" Turns out that they didn't need her, but no one from the casting office bothered to tell me. After much consternation and more than a few phone calls, it was decided that I would indeed get paid for bringing the dog, but they decided not to use me at all. I spent 12 hours on set, getting paid to babysit my dog. Not a bad gig, but I would've liked to have been working.
The day wasn't a total waste, however. Near the end of the night, Martin Sheen, who plays Uncle Ben in the new movie, was over at the craft services table getting a snack. Having heard over the years that he was approachable and a nice guy, I plucked up the courage and took Princess over to crafty. I stood on the side, ostensibly looking for a Coke or some sort of sugary treat (it was close to midnight at that point), when Martin asked, "Does the dog like cheese?" I stammered out some sort of affirmative answer and he gave me cheese to give to Princess. He then held out his hand to me, a nobody in this business, and I shook it. This was around the time that Charlie was having his issues, so I stammered out that our family was praying for his "if you don't mind a bunch of Lutherans kicking in." His reply was, "We'll take whatever we can get." It was probably the most memorable encounter I've ever had with a star, certainly he was the biggest star I've ever met. He was totally cool to me and my dog, and if all stars were like that, this would be a great business to be in.
This past Monday Princess and I worked on the new NBC series "Smash". Once again, The Big Fuzzy Dog was a hit in holding (The Gershwin Hotel) and on set (Madison Square Park). Debra Messing and Christian Borle petted her and wanted to know all about her (didn't want to know who I was, though...). The PAs made sure that Princess had her on camera moment. Whether she'll get it or not I won't know until next year, but I had fun showing off Manhattan to my country reared dog, and I think she had fun also. It'd be nice if she'd get some face time, but somehow I don't think it matters all that much to her.
