November 2017

That ringing bell you hear signals that a TrunkSpace class is now in session. Overseeing our lesson in funny is “Teachers” star Kate Lambert, one-sixth of the comedy troupe The Katydids. In addition to portraying Ms. Watson in the TV Land sitcom, she is also co-creator, executive producer, and writer. That’s a lot of hats to wear anywhere but especially in a school, a place where wearing hats is generally frowned upon.

The second half of season 2 of “Teachers” kicks off tonight on TV Land.

We recently sat down with Watson to discuss the enjoyment of being involved in all stages of production, how acting is one of her first loves, and why she would never make Billy Joel a merman.

TrunkSpace: Is being in a comedy ensemble anything at all like being in a band? Is the relationship similar? If The Katydids were to break up, would you go on a “farewell tour” à la KISS?
Lambert: I think it can be a lot like a band – everyone has something different and special they bring to it. On the administrative side, it’s a lot of coordinating schedules, etc. And on the creative side, it’s combining different voices into something cohesive. We would for sure go on a farewell tour like KISS, but mostly for the face paint.

TrunkSpace: The second half of your TV Land series “Teachers” kicks off tonight. For those who aren’t familiar with your journey, how did the show ultimately come together and was it a long process from inception to your first day of shooting?
Lambert: We started out as an improv group in Chicago. Caitlin Barlow put the group together and at first it was more of a bit because we all had a version of the name Katherine: Caitlin, Katie, Katie, Kate, Cate, and Katy. We called ourselves The Katydids and we did a few one-off shows and didn’t think anything would come of it, but then we eventually did a run at a theater and there was something about that run that was just different. We decided that we wanted to do the most with the group that we possibly could. So we hired a coach and started rehearsing. When we got a run at iO, we made sketch videos promoting it. I thought that instead of hanging up a flier with the name of a group that people might not know, we could instead show them what our humor was like with these videos and that might get them to come to our show. After that, we started making sketch videos.

Matt Miller, a director and casting director in Chicago, approached us with the idea of doing a webseries about “Teachers.” Then everyone created their individual characters and we wrote the webseries. When we released the webseries, it took off right away. An agent at William Morris, Alec Botnick, took us on so that we could work on selling it as a TV show. TV Land then called WME looking for original content and were sent our sizzle reel and they made an offer. So we were incredibly lucky in that we sold the show before we ever had to go out and pitch it.

TrunkSpace: Speaking of that first day on set for “Teachers,” was it exhilarating, terrifying, or a combination of the two?
Lambert: I just remember being on cloud nine. It was so incredibly exciting to see so many people working on this big set in Los Angeles that used to be just a dream we had when we lived in Chicago. It was a lot of trying-not-to-cry moments and just being so incredibly grateful for the opportunity.

TrunkSpace: Now that you have been a part of the production machine for two seasons, do you still find any aspects of the process exhilarating, terrifying, or a combination of the two?
Lambert: I really love it all. As producers, we are hands on for so much of the process. We are in the writers’ room, at production meetings, on set giving notes, and in the editing room. I enjoy so much of it. I think editing is fascinating because it can make or break any moment. It’s the final writing of the episode.

TrunkSpace: Do you think “Teachers” could exist in its current form on one of the more mainstream networks? Is TV Land the perfect home for it not only because you’re making the show that you want to make, but also because there is less pressure to pull the maximum amount of eyeballs with each episode, which seems like a recipe for ulcers for those creators looking to make their mark with new, original content on something like a FOX or ABC?
Lambert: I think TV Land is the perfect place for “Teachers.” The network completely gets the show – it’s irreverent but it also has heart. They have allowed us to do the show we always dreamed of doing and that we think is funny. We are so grateful to them for their support and feedback. It’s made it a stronger show.

TrunkSpace: As a group, you’re all writing, producing, and starring in the show. Now that you’re two seasons deep, what is your favorite hat to wear in the process and why?
Lambert: I honestly don’t know if I could pick one. All of it involves things that I absolutely love. The writing process is so much fun because it’s limitless in what we can create for these characters and I love the process of pitching storylines, jokes, etc. I also really enjoy being on set. I have a big interest in eventually directing as well, so watching on set, giving notes, etc. is really interesting to me. Of course, acting is one of my first loves, and being able to do characters we created with the ideas we came up with in the writers’ room for such a big audience is really exciting.

TrunkSpace: In your opinion, how important is it that more women are not only spearheading content in Hollywood, but making the decisions on who those spearheaders (totally not a word but we’re running with it) should be? Do you hope that “Teachers” can help open the door for more women creators to get their projects greenlit?
Lambert: I think it is an incredibly exciting time. There are so many women who are creating and producing shows. They are inspiring and making the way for other women. There are so many people in this industry that I admire who have done that – Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Abbi Jacobson, Ilana Glazer, Shonda Rhimes, Lena Dunham, to name a handful. I hope that “Teachers” can do the same for people. The reason that we have a show in the first place is because we did not wait for someone to give us a part or tell us what to play – we decided how we were going to put ourselves and our work out there.

TrunkSpace: One of the things we always point out when it comes to music is that (and this goes back to our first question in a way) when a band is made up of all men, nobody calls it a man band, however, when a band is made up of all women, they call it a girl band. Why isn’t a band just a band and a group of comedians/creators just comedians who create? Are we getting closer to gender not being used as a label in entertainment?
Lambert: That is a great question and one that I think many of us find ourselves asking. I think that as more and more women get leadership roles in the industry and are in creative positions, that it will become less of a thing.

TrunkSpace: And Kate, we have to ask… we read in your bio that you’re dying to see Billy Joel in concert and that you still dream of being a mermaid. Would the ultimate dream then be – seeing Billy Joel in an underwater concert while living your life as a mermaid? Kind of the best of both worlds if Billy Joel was a merman too, right?
Lambert: Wow, my head just exploded even thinking about that possibility. Yes, seeing Billy Joel in concert is on my bucket list. He is one of my all time favorite musicians and I have always wanted to see a live show of his. But I wouldn’t make Billy Joel a merman; he needs his feet for the piano pedals.

TrunkSpace: Your story of how The Katydids first came together and how the group grew into what it is sounds very reminiscent of your executive producer Alison Brie’s Netflix series “GLOW,” only with less wrestling and more comedy. Has anyone made that comparison before, because it really does sounds similar in terms of the journey?
Lambert: I haven’t gotten that comparison before, but it is a huge compliment!

TrunkSpace: With that in mind, if someone with very deep pockets said, “We really want to tell The Katydids story in the form of a comedic series, BUT, you can’t play yourselves.” Terrible decision on the network’s part, BUT, you end up having say over the casting process. Who do you vote for playing you on screen?
Lambert: Jane Fonda, only so I can be associated with her in some way. I adore her and have always admired her.

TrunkSpace: What are you most excited for viewers to see in the second half of season 2?
Lambert: I really love that in season 2, we learn even more about the characters and see them in different lights. Also – there are some pretty exciting life moments that happen to several of the teachers.

To visit “Teachers” co-star Caitlin Barlow’s classroom, click here.

“Teachers” airs Tuesdays on TV Land.

Artist/Band: Kingsbury

Members: Caroline Kingsbury

Website: www.kingsburyxx.com

Hometown: Indialantic, FL

Latest Album/Release: “Alone Again” (Single)

Influences: Bombay Bicycle Club, Lorde, Washed Out, MUNA, Bleachers

TrunkSpace: How do you describe your music?
Kingsbury: My deep-seated issues and insecurities on top of dreamy pop blending acoustic and electronic elements.

TrunkSpace: You started your career as a backing vocalist. What did you learn about the business during those days that you have applied to your own career moving forward?
Kingsbury: I actually didn’t start my career as a backing vocalist. I was writing folk rock music before I started Kingsbury. I played tons of shows in Nashville and was really pursuing that. While I was on a house show tour for that project, I got offered to sing backup for a band I loved. I learned so much while I was on that tour and realized very quickly that I wasn’t making the music I really wanted to make.

I’ve wanted to be an artist since I was 13, and when I moved to Nashville right out of high school I became extremely driven and focused to make that a reality. I was so excited and naive that I just started reaching out to all these artists and music business people I admired and met with everyone just so I could learn what I needed to do. I also took every show I was offered, got a band together of my friends, and played tons of shows…even if no one was there. I learned that to move forward in my career I would need to put myself out there, learn from the people who were already doing it, and just make music. Even if no one is in the crowd, even if barely anyone hears the music, I learned that I had to just keep going it if I ever wanted this to happen.

TrunkSpace: We read that your own creative point of view was shaped by watching live performances of other artists. Do you try and bring that vibe into your recorded material as well, and if so, how have you set out to achieve that?
Kingsbury: When I’m writing I try to focus on a very specific feeling I get when I perform. It’s like an emotional knot in my chest that I can come back to when I need to feel something when I’m numb or uninspired.

TrunkSpace: Your songs have been streamed and listened to a ton. How does an artist translate those streams and a general buzz into a living? What is the best way for an artist to turn their passion for music into a career in 2017?
Kingsbury: That’s a really great question. I think every artist right now is trying to figure that out. I like to think most of it is luck and hard work…probably super cliche… but really I think that the atmosphere of how people consume music has changed, but the way to pursue music hasn’t changed. You can’t force anything. I’m not even close to being there yet.

TrunkSpace: Do you think that there’s a system for an artist to make a living by creating and performing music that hasn’t been figured out yet? Is there a formula that has yet to be cracked?
Kingsbury: There is absolutely no formula. With the internet anything is honestly possible.

TrunkSpace: What does your single “Alone Again” say about you? What can we learn by really diving in and dissecting both the lyrics and the music itself?
Kingsbury: I wrote it the day after I played SXSW… I had just moved to LA from Nashville and flew into Austin for two days to play the festival and meet up with a producer who was there. I felt such clarity for the first time about what I wanted… we wrote it in two hours! I was having a really hard time differentiating between what people wanted for me and what I actually wanted. I am extremely self-critical but with this song I somehow wasn’t. So I think that “Alone Again” was the product of me moving forward in my life and moving past things that held me back.

TrunkSpace: What does your writing process look like? How does a song go from inception to completion?
Kingsbury: I recently started a daily writing routine. I collect melodies and lyrics and random thoughts on my phone and then sit down at my little home demo set up and work… it’s definitely not as structured as that sounds. (Laughter) Depending on the song, I usually write and rewrite until I get stuck and then bring it to a producer friend and we finish up all the production. Within the last year I started producing and co producing my stuff. I’ve written exclusively on Garageband since I was 13, but recently upgraded to Logic… AKA me failing at life but still trying to learn how to be a better producer. A lot of the songs I have that aren’t released yet I’ve produced/co-produced. It’s been and extremely liberating and frustrating learning experience.

TrunkSpace: Creative people are infamous for being extremely hard on themselves in the creative process. Does that apply to you, and if so, where are you hardest on yourself?
Kingsbury: I am definitely extremely hard on myself, but a lot of the time I just have to tune it out or else I implode. I think I am bad about comparing myself to other artists. I just make myself feel so small… I convince myself that I am never going to be where they are or as good as they are or blah blah blah.

TrunkSpace: We read this great quote by you where you said that “I’m kind of fucked up and I want that to be enough.” We think that’s a very powerful message because so often, especially in the social media age, people are trying to put their best selves forward. As humans, we’re all a little fucked up, and isn’t it better to embrace that than deny it exists?
Kingsbury: The moment I accepted that was when I learned that self-forgiveness can heal. I actually learned that while I was on acid one time. I sat outside leaned up against my car and listened to all of my old middle school and high school songs… I was for some reason so angry at young Caroline. It was so fucked up of me to be so angry at myself and in that moment I just forgave myself.

TrunkSpace: What do you want people to take from your music? What messages do you hope they uncover and decipher in a way that they can apply to their own lives?
Kingsbury: I like to shy away from trying to apply meaning to my songs. I think music is beautiful because it means something different to everyone.

But if there’s one thing I want people to take away, it’s that it’s okay to be fucked up and scared and lonely and sad and happy and in love and loud and quiet and crazy and weird. I don’t know if that makes sense, but that’s who I am.

TrunkSpace: As you look forward in your career and life, what do you hope to accomplish moving forward? What do you want to check off of your creative bucket list?
Kingsbury: I would love to get back on the road soon and play some festivals. I honestly can’t let myself hope for the big stuff yet. I’ve got so much more work to do before any of that is a possibility.

TrunkSpace: What can fans expect from Kingsbury as we creep closer to 2018? What does the new year hold?
Kingsbury: More music and shows!

Albert Tsai may be considered a child actor, but this young adult displays more maturity than most of the actual adults we know, and that’s not excluding ourselves. With an impressive career that has already spanned half a decade, the 13-year-old has mastered the art of making people laugh, which he has done opposite industry heavyweights like Malin Akerman and Ken Jeong through his early work in “Trophy Wife” and “Dr. Ken.” His latest project is the Mark Feuerstein-created sitcom “9JKL” airing Mondays on CBS.

We recently sat down with Tsai to discuss his love for entertaining, how he’s always absorbing knowledge while on set, and why individual episodes represent their own contribution to a show’s overall story.

TrunkSpace: You’ve been acting professionally for a long time now. What is it about entertaining that you personally enjoy most?
Tsai: I love making people laugh, making people happy, and that’s why I love doing comedy. I love acting because I feel like I get to play different roles and be in different lives, almost like being a different person, and playing different kinds of characters. That’s what I really love about it, and also, exploring the different stories and scripts that I get.

TrunkSpace: You mentioned getting to play different types of roles. With that said, what is your process for finding a character? How do you connect with them?
Tsai: Whenever I get a new character, I always like to look at the little description, kind of a breakdown of what the character is that they give me. I’ll look at that and then read the lines that I have in the script and just imagine what the character would be like in real life and form his personality almost. Then, after I meet with the director or producers or writers, I will take in their notes and kind of mesh it.

TrunkSpace: Do you ever get into a situation where you think you have a character figured out, and then you meet with the creative team and they give you insight that you didn’t consider?
Tsai: Yeah, of course. I always like to incorporate what the director or writers think because they have a hand in also creating the character. It’s just a medley of all of our notes and who we think the character is.

For example, for Ian in “9JKL”, a major part of his personality is that he is a precocious latchkey kid who sits in the lobby a lot. He’s quite mature because he talks with all the adults that come in and out of the lobby. Also, he’s a cinephile, a movie buff, so he always likes to talk about different movies or plays or whatever.

TrunkSpace: “9JKL” is another sitcom in a series of great sitcoms over the course of your career. Do you wish to maintain your path in the comedy space or do you hope to branch out and do some serious drama?
Tsai: I love comedy, like I said earlier, and making people laugh, but I think also it would be great if I could do maybe some action or adventure stuff, like a feature film. I think that would be great, and it’d be a new experience for me because those characters are different. I feel like they’re developed more heavily also, so that would be a very interesting experience for me.

TrunkSpace: And we would imagine that the timing is different? You’re not having to find a joke within the dialogue.
Tsai: Yeah, like it’s not taken beat by beat. I feel like dramas or action and adventure, feature films in general, they’re more plot driven. It’s all about advancing the story and getting to the resolution.

TrunkSpace: We actually saw that you’re producing a project right now, which is not something you tend to see a lot of 13-year-olds doing. Is that something you’re hoping to continue doing in the future?
Tsai: I’ve always been interested in the behind-the-scenes part of things. Ever since doing my first show, the ABC family comedy “Trophy Wife,” I’ve been interested in how the entire production team – the director, the writers, the cast – how we all put together a TV show and we all do our part. I’ve always loved learning about directing or producing, and I think that would be great for me to do in the future. It’d be a lot of fun.

TrunkSpace: “Trophy Wife,” “Dr. Ken,” and now “9JKL” are all shows with incredible talent both in front of and behind the camera. Do you look at your jobs as an education as well, having the opportunity to learn from all of these successful people within the industry?
Tsai: I’m very curious about what happens on set, so I always like to learn from everybody and everything that’s happening during my projects. For example, “Trophy Wife” was a single-camera comedy, and “Dr. Ken” was a multi-camera comedy. They both had different aspects to them that I learned from. I think it’s great that I’ve done different types of projects and I’m very grateful for it.

TrunkSpace: In terms of “9JKL,” how does the show and character differ from other work you’ve done? What is exciting about it for you?
Tsai: Well, my previous shows, they’ve both been family comedies, and I’ve been part of the family. I played the main characters’ son. Now I’m outside of the family, so it’s kind of a different character perspective and almost a different experience when delivering the lines and how this character, Ian, interacts with the other characters.

TrunkSpace: Would you say the comedy itself is tonally different from previous comedies you’ve worked on?
Tsai: A little bit because I feel like because the main family is all adults, it’s slightly more adult-driven even, but there’s still those family dynamics that are really fun.

TrunkSpace: You worked on “Dr. Ken” for over 40 episodes. Over 20 on “Trophy Wife.” Is it fun for you to play the same character over an extended period of time?
Tsai: Because I feel like, especially with comedies, how each episode is kind of its own isolated story – I mean, they all interlink, but they’re their own story arcs – I feel like even though I’m playing the same character, getting the script every week is really exciting for me because it’s a completely new story. We might find out a new part of the character’s personality, or something really fun might happen. I feel like each episode is its own piece of the entire TV show’s story.

“9JKL” airs Mondays on CBS.

Featured image by: Wes Klain

Even though our slowly-shrinking jack-o-lanterns are still sitting on our stoops and our various Halloween costumes are slung over the backs of chairs, the changing of the calendar from October to November means only one thing for those particularly festive people like us… it’s the unofficial start of the holiday season!

Thanks to Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, our inner inflatable, oversized, holiday-themed lawn decoration is being filled with seasonal wonder from now through December as a magical series of Christmas movies pump our holiday spirit to maximum capacity. Premiering this Saturday on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is “The Perfect Christmas Present” starring Tara Holt and Sam Page.

We recently sat down with Holt to discuss going blue, why people love Holiday movies, and what her version of the perfect Christmas present would be.

TrunkSpace: You went from “Z Nation” to Hallmark Movies & Mysteries’ “The Perfect Christmas Present.” That’s a pretty diverse year, which as an actress, must be part of the fun of the job, right?
Holt: Yeah, you know, it’s been interesting, for sure. It’s definitely all sides of the spectrum. The role on “Z Nation” was something that when I was going out for it, I actually didn’t know that my character was blue until I’d gotten the part.

TrunkSpace: Surprise! (Laughter)
Holt: (Laughter) “Surprise, you’re blue.”

So that was really interesting, spending the entire summer as a blue half-human/half-zombie. It’s something I’d never done before, and I’m not so sure I’ll ever do again, necessarily. So I mean, I take it as it is, you know? It was a cool, different experience, and totally on the other side of the spectrum from “The Perfect Christmas Present,” which was just so fun. It was just totally different from any sort of dramatic role that I’ve done. It was lighthearted and easy to shoot, and it was a pleasure to be on that set. I didn’t have to go to any deep, dark crazy places emotionally, so that was nice. (Laughter)

TrunkSpace: On a project like “The Perfect Christmas Present,” it’s really about the human connection side of the performance, right?
Holt: Absolutely. It’s so fun because they were so easy to connect with. It made my job so easy, and it was just really a breeze. Sometimes you get off of shooting an overly dramatic thing, any sort of horror, or any sort of extremely emotional thing, and to hop on a comedy or something like “The Perfect Christmas Present,” it’s such a relaxing situation because you just get to connect with the other person.

TrunkSpace: The makeup is barely dry on our Halloween costumes. What advice do you give us to transition our brains from spooky spirits to finding our holiday spirits?
Holt: It’s gonna happen very fast. You get four days to figure it out! (Laughter)

What’s nice about it is, I think Christmas is a great representation of all the holidays as a whole, so as soon as the holidays are approaching, Christmas is kind of a staple to that. Halloween and Thanksgiving are the buildup, but I think Christmas is the overall umbrella for it all. I don’t think there’s any time to start… you can’t start Christmas too early. In fact, I have friends who have their Christmas lights up all year round. I’m a huge Christmas person. I don’t think there’s any harm in starting it November 4, or earlier.

The other thing is, it’s nice because I’ve been going into some stores, and they’re already in the Christmas spirit. I was like, “Whoa, okay… we’re there.” In our society, as soon as Halloween is over, you better believe that it’s switching to Christmas.

TrunkSpace: The movie is actually kicking off the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Most Wonderful Movies of Christmas programming event. That has to be pretty exciting that they chose your film to launch such a big event for the network?
Holt: Yeah, we knew we had something special going on as we were filming. After each day we just knew we were surpassing what was expected, and doing it more justice than I think any of us knew we were initially going to do, so I’m actually very pleasantly surprised that they chose it for this position.

TrunkSpace: Why do you think this type of seasonal content continues to resonate with so many people?
Holt: I think there’s something very heartwarming about this kind of thing, because you get your family together, everyone sits down, you’re all together on the couch, you’re probably having some snacks while you’re watching it, having some laughs, having some feel-good moments and you’re with the people you love. It’s a moment to get lost in another world, and obviously there are some fantasy elements to all of the Christmas movies, and it’s a really fun world to escape into, especially before everyone’s really geared up and ready for Christmas. It’s such a great moment for everyone to start and sort of slip into that element early on. So that’s why I’m excited – to be the first one to start off the holiday season.

TrunkSpace: From a performance standpoint, was it easy for you to discover who Jenny was? Did you have time to absorb the material and discover her as a character?
Holt: Yeah, I thankfully got a few weeks beforehand where I was really able to dive into my own character and kind of answer all those questions for me and make sure that I knew her inside and out before I stepped onto the set. I didn’t, however, get a chance to meet Sam Page, who plays opposite me, and Blair Hayes, who’s the director, until the day before filming. Thankfully, they’re lovely and such a great crowd to work with. It was really, really easy to fit in with them. When Sam and I started off, our first scene was kind of an argument and it was interesting because we had to break a connection there that hadn’t really quite been built yet. But thankfully, he’s so amazing to work with and such a great actor that it was really easy for us to have had that relationship built, for us to be in that place, to break it, even just in a day.

And overall, in comparison to some of the other roles I’ve done, this one didn’t require some crazy, dark niche and extreme studying to do beforehand. She’s such a sweet, loving person, and works for the charities, and does have some pain in her life that involves her family members and her upbringing, but overall, I didn’t have to get into the mind of, like the “Z Nation” show, where I’m like a half-human/half-zombie and I’m actually mentally five-years-old in a 28-year-old’s body. That was complicated. This one wasn’t so complicated. That was what was so great, the simplicity of her.

TrunkSpace: And in this one, you didn’t have to have blue skin!
Holt: I do not have blue skin, thankfully, in this one. (Laughter)

TrunkSpace: It’s an obvious question for the star of “The Perfect Christmas Present” but we have to ask it… what would the perfect Christmas present be for you this year?
Holt: Wow, you know, surprisingly I haven’t gotten to that yet, so I haven’t really thought about it. I am very fortunate right now in my life to say that I have mostly everything that I’ve ever wanted, but there is something I’m working toward as an adult. “As an adult now…” (Laughter) I’m working towards purchasing my first home, so that is something that I would like to give to myself.

But as far as the perfect Christmas gift that somebody else could give me… I’m way bigger on life experiences over an actual tangible item, so I would have to say the perfect Christmas gift for me would be a trip somewhere – somewhere that I’ve never been. Hands-down, life experiences over anything for me.

“The Perfect Christmas Present” airs Saturday on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.

TrunkSpace is looking to rock the socks of fans of “Supernatural.” We’ve made it our mission to feature every actor and actress who has appeared on the series, and in doing so, has left a mark on the Supernatural Family.

The road so far…

For many diehard “Supernatural” fans who have been watching throughout the course of these 13 seasons (and counting!), identifying actors who have appeared in multiple roles has become a bit of a side game. With such a vast universe to inhabit and more than 260 episodes already under their demon-hunting belts, it’s virtually impossible to have so many guest stars written into the series and not have them reappear a few years later. And when their as talented as Canadian-born Billy Wickman, it makes just as much creative sense as it does the logical variety.

We recently sat down with Wickman to discuss how he put physical separation between his two SPN characters, the handsomeness of the Winchester boys, and getting to play a Hallmark Channel villain.

TrunkSpace: You’ve played two characters within the “Supernatural” universe, which as we understand it, is not uncommon with that particular show. That being said, is that a common occurrence with other shows or does the tenure of “Supernatural” just make it impossible not to have that option available to the casting directors?
Wickman: That’s exactly right, when a show has been around as long as “Supernatural,” they have to start dipping back into the same talent pool. Most shows won’t see you twice, or even once, if you’ve appeared in the same “universe” on another show.

TrunkSpace: What is that experience like? When you’re playing two characters within the same universe, and knowing how passionate that fandom is, do you purposely try to separate yourself from what you’ve done previously, both physically and through performance?
Wickman: Absolutely. For my second time around we darkened my hair and beard and I played Elvis as an experienced extrovert, as opposed to “Brian”, the fresh-faced fearful youngster.

TrunkSpace: For us, your more memorable turn was as Elvis Katz in the season 12 episode, “Celebrating the Life of Asa Fox.” The episode itself had a classic horror vibe, but more importantly, the character was very memorable. What did you look to bring to the role when you first read the sides?
Wickman: I wanted him to be warm and human, even during his friend’s memorial, to remind us why Hunters fight for our side. Demon hunting is serious, but you have to live to be human.

TrunkSpace: In that episode you played a Hunter, which in our book, really puts you in the meat of the lore because there’s so few Hunter’s within the universe. Do you feel like that by playing Elvis you have left your fingerprint on the franchise in a way?
Wickman: Hunters are a pretty elite group and I am very proud to be in the company of such great characters and the amazing actors portraying them.

TrunkSpace: The “Supernatural” fandom, or the SPN Family as they have come to be called, is extremely passionate and fully invested in the world and characters who inhabit it. Over the course of 13 seasons, there’s a lot for them to love, but have you felt that fandom’s reach directly following your performances within the series? Is that fandom as welcoming to guest stars as it is their favorite series regulars and reoccurring characters?
Wickman: The SPN Family is incredible, and your reach is huge! I have received my largest Twitter bump yet from you all. The Fam loves Jared & Jensen so much that it’s probably easy to miss a guest, but I still feel a lot of appreciation for our work and I appreciate it right back!

TrunkSpace: As we previously touched on, the series is currently in its 13th season. In your opinion, what is it about the show that has driven so many people towards it for such a long period of time? Why has it been successful for so long while other shows can’t maintain that kind of longevity?
Wickman: It doesn’t hurt that these are two of the most handsome dudes I’ve ever met, but they’re also super friendly and hard working. I’ve known them each for a long time now, and they’ve always been fun, open to ideas, and constantly improving. Also, the show has such credibility that we can get a legendary director like John Badham to come in and lead us.

TrunkSpace: You have also guested or reoccurred on some other great shows with passionate fandoms, including “The X Files,” “Arrow, “Falling Skies,” and “Hell on Wheels.” When you’re joining a show that has been filming for such a long period of time, even as a guest star, is there a level of anxiousness coming into something that already has a particular tone and way of doing things on set? Does it feel a bit like you’re the new kid in a school where everyone already knows each other?
Wickman: (Laughter) That’s exactly what it feels like! It takes a minute to get that out of your head, but you have to remember that everyone there is on your side and wants you to succeed. It can really help if the director and lead actors express their trust in you early, but usually they’re busy doing their jobs too. The best you can do is stay confident in the talent that got you there, and you’ll be welcomed into the family quicker than you think.

TrunkSpace: You come from a big family with lots of siblings. Did that upbringing shape you into the actor that you’ve become? Did having a lot of siblings put you in a position to entertain and have an audience from a young age?
Wickman: Being the sixth of seven kids taught me to fight for, and earn an audience. You don’t get much stage time at a busy dinner table, so you need to be quick and interesting!

TrunkSpace: You were born and raised in Canada and work there extensively. From what you’ve seen, has the Canadian production industry continued to grow and expand since you started your career and has it presented more opportunities for actors to stay in Canada without having to consider moves to Los Angeles or New York?
Wickman: I have seen our industry fluctuate, but it is definitely on the incline now. Vancouver used to be a training ground for LA, but with the quantity and quality of productions here now, and the stunning natural beauty, many successful actors are choosing to stay here.

TrunkSpace: You’ll be appearing in the upcoming Hallmark Channel holiday movie “Finding Santa” premiering November 24. Can you tell us about your character and where he falls into things?
Wickman: I play Clint, he’s the closest thing to a villain you’ll find in a Hallmark Christmas movie. He is the epitome of entitlement, the mayor’s son, who still lives in her basement. Clint is given the part of Santa in the annual parade, much to the disappointment of the entire town. I had a great time on that set, with a lot of hilariously talented people. It was my second time working with director David Winning (first was “Van Helsing” episode “Big Mama” airing November 23). He is one of my all-time favorite people.

TrunkSpace: The Hallmark Channel holiday offerings are always extremely popular and come with a built-in audience. Why do you think they consistently do so well year in and year out?
Wickman: Hallmark fans know what to expect with those films. As in life; family, community, hope, and happiness are major themes visited in every project. Hallmark has a direct line to America’s heartstrings. (Ooh, that sounds good!)

Thanks for inviting me to chat, it was my pleasure, much love to the SPN Family!

Feature image by: Bryce Bladon Photography

Even though our slowly-shrinking jack-o’-lanterns are still sitting on our stoops and our various Halloween costumes are slung over the backs of chairs, the changing of the calendar from October to November means only one thing for those particularly festive people like us… it’s the unofficial start of the holiday season!

Thanks to Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, our inner inflatable, oversized, holiday-themed lawn decoration is being filled with seasonal wonder from now through December as a magical series of Christmas movies pump our holiday spirit to maximum capacity. Premiering this Saturday on Hallmark Channel is “Christmas Festival of Ice” starring Taylor Cole and Damon Runyan.

We recently sat down with Cole to discuss the draw of Christmas content, why she so easily connected with her character Emma, and her own favorite holiday memory.

TrunkSpace: Your new holiday Hallmark Channel film “Christmas Festival of Ice” premieres just a few days after Halloween. For all of us who are still nursing candy corn hangovers, how do we jump start our brains to transition from spooky spirits to finding our holiday spirit?
Cole: The crisp air and new latte flavors, of course. Also, I’ve already started planning my family get-together and there’s nothing like family to bring in the holiday spirit.

TrunkSpace: The film is a part of the network’s “Countdown to Christmas” programming event. People love the holidays and they love Hallmark Channel original programming. The marriage of the two seems like a no-brainer. In your opinion, why does this particular type of seasonal content resonate with so many viewers?
Cole: I think Hallmark Christmas movies evoke a sense of nostalgia that people are yearning for during the holidays.

TrunkSpace: In the film you’re playing fresh-out-of-law-school Emma Parkers who returns to her small town only to discover that an ice sculpting competition that means a lot to her has been cancelled. The two elements that are most often discussed as relating to holiday Hallmark Channel movies are relationships and the holidays themselves, but a big part of their allure is the environment of a community that they establish. In terms of “Christmas Festival of Ice,” how important is that element of community and the town itself to the overall story and to who Emma is?
Cole: Emma really discovers herself through fundraising for her favorite childhood pastime with the help of her community. Giving back and creating memories for the town again makes her realize her passion in life might be different from what others expect her to be.

TrunkSpace: Was it an easy journey for you to discover just who Emma was? It is our understanding that things move pretty quickly from the moment you land the part to the first day of photography. Did you have time to absorb the material and connect with the character?
Cole: I connected with Emma immediately because of her connection with her father and the activities they bonded over. My favorite memories as a child were camping with my father and road tripping to volleyball games. I recently bought a trailer and spent the last year and a half traveling the US driving from job to job for that very reason.

TrunkSpace: From a performance standpoint, what was your favorite moment in your journey as Emma? Is there a particular scene or aspect of the story that you’re most excited for viewers to see?
Cole: The last scene with my father was hands-down my favorite scene. I’m a daddy’s girl and that bond is beautiful and unbreakable.

TrunkSpace: Speaking of viewers, Hallmark Channel has a very passionate fandom. Coined Hallmarkies online, they love all things Hallmark Channel, especially seasonal content. As an actress, is it rewarding to be working on a project that not only has a built-in fan base where you know people will show up for the premiere, but is also something that the entire family can share in?
Cole: The fans are so great because they are so genuine and loyal. What more can you ask for? My favorite part of Hallmark is the family bond it has created for so many families, including mine.

TrunkSpace: We here at TrunkSpace are admittedly a bit obsessed with all things “Supernatural.” We know that you appeared in two episodes with a large gap in between, so we’re curious, how much of a surprise was it when you received the call to reprise the role of Sarah Blake in season 8?
Cole: I always thought it would be an interesting storyline to continue considering she was Sam’s first love interest after his great loss, but it was so early in the show I wasn’t sure there’d be room for a love interest. So getting a call seven seasons later was definitely a surprise.

TrunkSpace: As someone who was on set in the inaugural first season and then again in season 8, does it come as a surprise that the show is currently still going strong in its 13th season?
Cole: The blend of the boys charm and the humor and adventure in the writing are a winning combination. And you can’t beat their fans. Their passion reminds me of Hallmark fans. They are the reason Sarah Blake returned to the show. That episode was used to kill off everyone that the fans begged to have back, which I think is kind of genius. They’ve done it all and the fans can’t get enough.

TrunkSpace: You’ve starred and guested in a lot of great, memorable shows over the years. Is there a particular character that you wished you got more time with to explore further and why?
Cole: I really enjoyed playing Sofya Voronova on “The Originals.” It was fun to have the challenge of playing two characters in season 4. Working and growing with such gifted talent inspired me everyday.

TrunkSpace: Again, “Christmas Festival of Ice” is part of the Countdown to Christmas programming event. What is one of your favorite holiday memories and what do you most look forward to each year as the season kicks off?
Cole: My arts and craft skills are not up to par so my favorite thing to do is attempt any cute holiday idea and see how poorly I can execute it. My favorite holiday memory was asking my dad to dress up as Santa so I could catch him leaving gifts under the tree.

“Christmas Festival of Ice” premieres Saturday on Hallmark Channel.

Keller Wortham is not only a recognizable actor with a reoccurring role on the hit series “Jane the Virgin,” he’s also a working doctor who has mastered the art of juggling auditions and on-set commitments while seeing patients as a general practitioner from his office in Glendale, California. He’s also a dreamy telenovela star, has one of the best outlooks in the business, and rocks a refreshing sense of humor as seamlessly as he does a stethoscope.

He’s basically the guy at the party you’d feel insecure introducing your significant other to.

We recently sat down with Wortham to discuss how he makes two full-time careers work, finding value in early role choices, and discovering the proper wiggle techniques of a giant sperm. (Yes, you read that right!)

TrunkSpace: We’re probably starting off with the same question people always ask you, but we feel it would be a mistake not to. You’re managing two successful careers, both of which are full time jobs for most people. How do you pull it off?
Wortham: Yes, sometimes it’s difficult. I have to say, I was really lucky to find a practice out here that was willing to work with my schedule and work with me on a part-time basis. I moved here from residency in Pittsburgh about 13 or 14 years ago and I have been working at this practice for really about 12 of them consistently, so it feels very much like my practice, although the fact that I’m not the owner gives me a lot of flexibility. Often times I’m at the practice, and I’ll have to take a little bit of a longer lunch. I’ll run down and change in my car, drive to an audition, put on my acting hat, come back, have relaxed from the anxiety that always happens during auditions, and then walk right into a room with a patient and act like everything’s normal. “I’ve been here all day.”

TrunkSpace: For somebody who is an entertainer and comfortable in front of people, does it make you a better doctor in terms of how you interact with patients?
Wortham: Yeah, and even beyond that, there’s a lot of intimacy in acting because you’re dealing with strangers, and you’re dealing with intimate scenarios, and you have to jump right into it and be very present. They’re skills that you learn acting or just inherent qualities of someone who goes into that. And then when you go into a room with a patient, you’re also very present. You often are in an intimate situation. I cry with patients all of the time. I know a lot of doctors don’t do that, either because they’re protecting themselves or they’re not as emotional of a person, but I think that humanity creates a really strong bond in that relationship, and I think it’s one of the aspects I bring to medicine – that availability and personability.

TrunkSpace: You work as general practitioner. From what we read, not a lot of doctors are focusing on that these days, which puts the future of family medicine in kind of a tight spot. Being on the inside and seeing it firsthand, is that something that you see as a problem?
Wortham: I do. You know, it doesn’t pay very well and it’s paying less and less the way things with insurance evolve. You’re coming out of med school with hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt. Luckily, interests rates have been low, but you know, it doesn’t incentivize people to go into family practice. It’s a lot of work and you have to know a lot – you have to have a broad base of knowledge and you don’t really get paid so well for it. You become the public defender version of your career and not the private lawyer, and there’s a big discrepancy in what those people get paid.

TrunkSpace: So the chicken or the egg question: What came first for you, was it a desire to be a doctor or a desire to be an actor?
Wortham: No, it was an actor for sure. I was an actor. I was that four-year-old who was putting on shows in the living room and singing and getting my friends to dress up in crazy costumes and making our parents watch it. If there was a fault it was them – it was my parents humoring that kind of behavior. (Laughter) It eventually led me into this, but I’ll tell you what, I acted growing up, not professionally in a sense, but I was doing school plays and summer camps and some community theater. But, I never viewed it as a career option, I think, just because my example was my father who is a physician and I knew I wanted something stable and something that people admired and I’m kind of risk averse, really.

So, it took me getting an MD and getting a residency to then be talking with my parents, my mother, one day and her asking me, “Well, what are you gonna do next year once residency’s over?” And me saying, “Well, I think I’m actually gonna move to LA and be an actor!” Then there was just this silence on the other side of the phone for a second and then, I swear to God, the next words out of her mouth were, “I think that’s a wonderful idea!” I don’t know if she was suppressing some other comments or just trying to be supportive, but they knew I was an entertainer and an artist all along who had just chosen a route of more stability. And I gotta say, were it not for that, I wouldn’t be acting today.

TrunkSpace: So having stability placed you in a position to put yourself out there as an actor?
Wortham: Absolutely. It’s allowed me financially to provide for myself. No knock on people who need to be bartenders and waiters and other things that often actors do – those are very viable options, but I couldn’t have done it. There were plenty of years where I would not have been able to provide for myself as an actor, so I would’ve undoubtedly ended up in one of those jobs that allows you the flexibility but is not really mentally stimulating. So, not only financially having bought myself the time that you need to do the training and do the auditions and slowly, slowly climb out of the marsh that is the millions of people in LA trying to act, but also the confidence to walk into a room and say, “I don’t need this, I’m doing this because I want to and I enjoy it. I have something else that I can do that brings me personal value and fulfillment so I’m going to play and I’m going to do it because it’s really something I love and not something I need.”

TrunkSpace: Does that allow you to go out for roles that you have genuine interest in, as opposed to the idea of following the work?
Wortham: Yes, absolutely. I have rarely turned down opportunities. I have, but I’ve rarely turned down opportunities because I think there’s something to learn in many, many different opportunities that at first don’t seem to be your top choice. I’ll tell you something mildly salacious… my first film ever, and I was a horrible actor back then and it’s embarrassing more for that than the fact that I’m naked in it for 80 percent of it, but I did a film when I’d been here a year. A French director who really wanted to talk about sexuality and violence in American society was basically like, “Are you okay with being nude and being erect in this movie?” And I think a combo of the naiveté of being fresh off the boat in LA and having a science background, thinking, “Aw geez, I see naked bodies all the time it’s not the biggest deal to me” propelled me into that scenario, which, in retrospect, might not have been the most advisable choice. (Laughter) It was one of those films that fell short of achieving what it wanted to achieve so then you just look like a guy who’s naked on camera a lot.

TrunkSpace: (Laughter) But even in that you must have been able to pull something from the experience that you could then apply to your career moving forward?
Wortham: Yes, yes. You know, it’s funny – I had mentioned just moments ago that I’m rather risk averse, but I have taken some big risks – calculated risks. Within my acting career, that certainly was a risk. Going into it, I knew I was gonna be naked all over the place and it was really gonna be the first images anyone would ever see of my career.

TrunkSpace: So when you’re working on something like “Jane the Virgin,” which is such a buzzy, acclaimed series, does it feel like, as far as your acting career is concerned, that it’s a turning point in terms of the types of roles that will open up to you moving forward?
Wortham: I hope so. I can say it that way. I’ve been with them for the first three seasons and I have quite a bit more material in this fourth season, which is great. This character was just a one-episode guest star when I came in. It was like a nothing thing and I guess it resonated with them, and they liked me, and I was brash enough to pitch them ideas. (Laughter) I was sitting there at lunch with one of the writers going like, “Oo! Oo! What if you brought him back and blah blah blah?” And he was like, “Oh! That’s kind of fun idea, sure!”

So, I hope that I continue to get to work more in the, let’s call it the English market, because I have quite a strong footing in the Hispanic market. I’ve just come off filming another show with Telemundo and got an offer to do a Christmas special with them, so I’m going back next week to film that, and I had an offer to be a character in a new series, but it conflicted with the dates. They love “Jane the Virgin” and there’s a lot of crossover audiences, obviously, so that’s worked quite well in my favor to work more in Spanish and as the Spanish market matures in the US, you get more and more interesting content, which is great.

But obviously, yes, I would love to have this catapult me into a pilot season where there’s some good opportunities for great American, English speaking characters in the mainstream market.

TrunkSpace: You mentioned that Esteban was supposed to be a one-off. From a performance standpoint, when you found out he was coming back, did it make you look back at those early choices you made for the character and dissect them?
Wortham: Yes, and I think more than anything, when we filmed my first episode, the show hadn’t started airing yet, so you had no idea what they were doing with it. You just had to read the script and trust the director. In TV the director changes every time, so you’re working with a director who’s coming in for her first episode as well and you’re all trying to find the tone in this show that’s not quite defined yet. By the time I had gotten the offer for the next episode, because they’d offer me a couple episodes in a row, I had been able to see the show and saw that really, we had more fun with it. It was a little bit goofier. As a one hour drama, you’re not quite sure what tone they’re gonna strike. So, it was looking at my performance, but I say even more-so, looking at the show as a whole and being like, “Oh! We can push this more! We can have more fun!”

And the writing lends itself to that. I think in season 2 and 3, I got to be bolder and a little bit more obnoxious and a little bit more arrogant. And, now, in season 4, thanks to the storyline, there’s the ability for this character to be more human now that he’s falling in love and wants to be a father. So, he’s still the arrogant telenovela star that he was, but the situation allows to see a little more human side of him, which is fun as an actor.

TrunkSpace: We have to ask… what goes through your mind when you emerge from wardrobe dressed like a sperm, because, frankly, that’s not something we get to ask very often?
Wortham: (Laughter) Yeah, I’m sure this is the third time you’ve asked it today, right? (Laughter)

The crafting of the sperm costume took many days, so there was a wardrobe fitting and a subsequent fitting and then another one, and then the design people coming in because we had to figure out not only how to make it look like a sperm, but how to be able to lie on the ground in it and wiggle in it with my head and face still viewable. And then, be able to unzip it enough to walk in it. So, they had their work cut out for them, but the funniest parts were literally going in and, first, I’m in this totally white spandex onesie, which was just funny in itself so that was bizarre, but then, we would just do these “auditions,” if you will, of the costume by having me lie down on the dressing room floor and wiggle. (Laughter) “How’s the tail wiggling? Is the tail long enough? Does it need to be shorter? Is the head too big and you can’t lift your face up so that the camera can see you? Or turn to the side?” So it was really funny just to be wiggling on the floor of the dressing room in what felt kind of like a mermaid of some sort.

The writers are so brilliant. They really are fun. The director within the show would say, “Less like Superman! More like sperm!” It would go from the Superman-esque style to like just gyrating side-to-side, which was really fun.

“Jane the Virgin” airs Fridays on The CW.

We look back fondly on a great number of movies from the 1980s. As latchkey kids who were partly raised by cable television following its revolutionary introduction, we would watch movies over and over and over again until we knew every nook and cranny of the HBO rotation. “Real Genius” was one of those after school mainstays, a comedy that we were probably too young to fully understand, but we embraced it with open arms anyway.

In the film, Robert Prescott plays Kent, an insecure graduate assistant who becomes the most unlikely of cinematic bullies, and apparently, one of the “biggest dicks of Hollywood.” And while he has amassed plenty of credits over the years, including “Bachelor Party” and “Spaceballs,” he remains a part of our pop culture past due to his genius “Real Genius” performance, a role that we continue to quote to this day.

We recently sat down with Prescott to discuss why the film stands out from other 80s teen comedies, a pattern of being cast as preppy conformists, and how volunteering at Ground Zero following the attacks of September 11, 2001 impacted his career forever.

TrunkSpace: As viewers, we take a movie like “Real Genius,” or a movie like “Bachelor Party,” and we attach this nostalgic label to it in our minds. Our relationship with those projects is ultimately different than yours in that we remember the finished product while you probably remember the overall experience. So with that said, what is your relationship to those films?
Prescott: Well, “Bachelor Party” came before “Real Genius,” by about a year, and “Bachelor Party” was actually my second job out of the gate. I was in New York, studying acting, and I got cast for a movie that was shot in Los Angeles, and it was called… well, actually, it was first called “National Lampoon’s Joy of Sex,” but, when National Lampoon saw it, they bought their name back, it was so bad.

TrunkSpace: Interesting. We had no idea that was originally connected to the National Lampoon brand.
Prescott: Yeah. That’s what took me to Los Angeles, and, while I was there, I auditioned for “Bachelor Party,” and I got that, and then I just realized that, “Wow, I might have a career out here.” It sort of happened quickly for me and it was an exciting time. So, I did “Bachelor Party,” and I think with those first jobs, the learning curve is so steep. It’s just incredible. I guess coming out as I did from New York, having no real concept of how careers work, or the business, or any of that, I did not consider that I was going to be like the angry preppy – the angry yuppie guy. It caught me off guard, but, in retrospect, it makes perfect sense, because there was this whole, huge wave of movies right after “Animal House” that were like the anti-heroes, and the preppies and the conformists were the antagonists. It did catch me a little bit off guard, but still, work is work. And when I got cast in “Real Genius,” I thought, “Uh oh, is this a pattern?”

But “Real Genius,” I thought, really had a heart to it, and even the character of Kent had a heart. It was different. It wasn’t quite as exploitative, or a by-the-numbers-teen-comedy, like a rip-off of “Animal House.”

TrunkSpace: And the thing about Kent was, he wasn’t your stereotypical 80s teen villain. He was, in a way, stuck in a tough place himself. He wasn’t the stud or the jock or the one guaranteed success.
Prescott: Right, right. And it was fun. It was a fun character. The first job I did was “Joy of Sex,” directed by Martha Coolidge. She’d just directed a movie called “Valley Girl,” which got her a lot of attention – a low budget movie that made a lot of money, and it had a nice heart to it too. And so, when she got a bigger job with “Real Genius,” she asked me to audition, and I came in and read for a few parts, and wound up with Kent. I hold her, in large part, responsible for that movie having mostly sympathetic characters that you could identify with, instead of just making them run of mill.

TrunkSpace: It was a time when teen characters, or characters in comedies in general, became caricatures in a lot of ways, but that wasn’t the case with “Real Genius.”
Prescott: Not as much, no. No, it really didn’t, and, like I said, I credit her and I credit the last writer who was on set, his name was Pj Torokvei. He’s a Canadian guy, and he was funny, and he was really good for that script. I think he really humanized it.

TrunkSpace: For people of a certain age, that film kind of existed and lived on through HBO. In your opinion, did cable help make that movie more iconic than it would have been?
Prescott: Oh, my God, yeah. It really did, and I remember those days too – you’d turn on cable and see the same movie come up over and over again. I was in my mid 20s then, so I wasn’t coming home from school, hanging out with my buddies, and just flipping on the TV, watching movies over and over again like I would have done in junior high and high school. But, to this day, every now and then, somebody will come up to me, and I’ll realize that they saw that movie like 30 or 40 times, and it means so much to them. And I get that, I totally get that, and it’s amusing and flattering too. I feel good about it, because, like I said, the movie had a real core, a heart to it.

TrunkSpace: With that said, do you feel like you have left your mark on pop culture?
Prescott: Well, I’d like to in a small way, but it’s a small way. It’s funny, a friend of mine, this wasn’t that long ago, he was in a waiting room at his dentist’s office. He calls me up and he says, “Hey, Prescott, you’re in the Top 10 Biggest Dicks of Hollywood.” (Laughter) I was like, “What are you talking about?” “Yeah, you’re one of the biggest dicks in Hollywood.” And I thought, “Wait a minute…”

What’s funny is they did a list of those 80s antagonists, whatever the deal is, and there was the guy who broke Ralph Macchio’s knee in “Karate Kid,” and there were a few others, and I remember I went and found the article, and I thought, “How did this guy get in front of me?” I went from being a little bit insulted that I was one of the biggest dicks of Hollywood, to, in typical actor fashion thinking, “Hey, maybe I should be at the top of this list!” (Laughter)

But to answer your question, no, I recognize that there is a segment of people, who are your age now, who do see certain roles… they saw Kent so often, or the character in “Bachelor Party,” Cole, so often that within a very small segment, there is a, kind of like, iconic aspect to it. I don’t take it… I mean, it’s a small segment, but it’s very amusing to me, and flattering too.

TrunkSpace: “This is God, stop touching yourself,” has been quoted probably far more times than one would think.
Prescott: Exactly. I mean, we didn’t give it any second thought, but when you’re making a movie, it’s almost impossible not to think that you’re doing something really good and special that’s going to stand out, and we did, making that movie, and it was a good group of actors in the set and the crew. Martha Coolidge always made the set… it had a really good spirit, so it’s hard not to feel like you’re doing something that’s going to last a little bit or stand out. As far as those individual scenes and stuff, yeah, some of them were kind of special, like the ice in the hallway, and the popcorn thing was pretty big. It was a fun movie.

TrunkSpace: You started out in theater and then moved into film and television. Is it difficult to start out on the stage and then move to film and TV where it’s less of an actor’s medium and more of a director’s and editor’s medium?
Prescott: I don’t think it’s that difficult. I mean, acting is acting and in stage and television, it is fragmented, and you give it away at the end of the day and leave it up to the director and editor and everyone else. They can mull over your performance, but it’s all the same. It is acting, and you have to have some insight into charting a performance if you’re doing a movie that’s shot out of sequence, and that takes a certain type of insight and awareness, but it’s not that complicated, you just have to have a little bit of common sense. You approach the work, pretty much, the same way. On a movie, between action and cut, it can be very short, but so can a scene in a play. You might run on and run off, so, in a way, it’s the same thing. You prepare, and then do what you set out to do.

TrunkSpace: Do you feel like as you’ve gotten older, as you’ve lived more life, it has become easier to find characters because you’ve experienced more?
Prescott: I don’t know. That’s a good question. On the one hand, yes, but I think as I’ve gotten older, you settle into your own skin, and so, sometimes, doing a character who is dramatically different in temperament and personality than myself, can be even more of a challenge, because, when you’re younger, you have a more “I can do anything,” attitude.

TrunkSpace: You stepped away from acting for some time. Can you tell us about that?
Prescott: I did step away from it in 1993, and then, in 2001, I went down to work at Ground Zero as a construction worker, and since then, within a few years or so, I started having health issues. It’s been, for a while now, I’ve been struggling with those, and doing some acting, and recently, I’ve been addressing those issues by doing some radical changes in my diet and living. I feel that, perhaps, that I can get on top of these conditions. I’ve been going to Mount Sinai hospital for 15 years now, as a result of the WTC Health Program, and all these things have affected my life. I still do a little bit of work. I just had a scene in a Denzel Washington movie that’s coming out next month. I still have my foot in it, but not to the same degree. I’ve learned to, and accepted that, my career, such as it is, has been affected by this.