1. How did you hear about the Trumbo casting call?
Caballero Casting posted a casting call for background on the upcoming filming of Trumbo and after hearing Bryan Cranston was involved I immediately applied. They were interested in a core group of extras to work throughout filming. I did not get picked for the core group and really thought I wasn’t going to get to work on the project. Some time later I received a call from Caballero regarding a background role portraying a prison guard. The prison scenes would film on the last two days of shooting overnight. I immediately said yes, had a wardrobe fitting and proceeded to wait for the shoot date which was about a month away. About a week later Caballero calls and ask if I’m available for a quick overnight scene. They need two guards and I immediately say yes. The scene we shoot that night is where Trumbo is getting released from prison. They have built a mock up of the prison walls and gate in a parking lot in New Orleans and that is where we shoot. There are two other guards, one background and the other is the dog handler. I don’t get a dog but instead I get to walk Cranston out of the prison. We start the scene in the dark and walk about sixty feet to the gate, I open the gate, Cranston pauses, he then walks through the gate, I close the gate and disappear into the darkness. It was surreal to say the least. Bryan Cranston, the man I just binged watched in Breaking Bad over the summer, is standing next to me making conversation while we wait for the scene to start. we shot that scene about 6 or 8 times and I was done for the night. I came back later for the last two nights of shooting where we completed all of the prison scenes and had a blast.
2. What was Bryan Cranston like on set?
Bryan Cranston was very personable on set, he introduced himself and referred to me by my name. When we were back waiting for the scene to start he was very loose and talkative. Once when you could hear a passing train whistle in the distance he said “This is almost like a real movie, the whistle, the fog, its like a real movie.” When we rehearsed the scene he discussed how I should open and close the gate, where I should stand and such. The first time we prepared to shoot the scene he asked the PA next to us if she had a mint because he had just eaten some cheesy fries and has to kiss Diane Lane at the end of the scene. The PA didn’t have anything and since I had just went by crafty I had a mint and I gave it to him. he said “Thanks Duane, you’re a life saver.” Every time we shot the scene when he got to the gate he would pause for a few seconds and then walk through without saying a word, except for the last take. On the last take after he paused he said “Goodbye Duane” and walked through the gate, I was really caught off guard and got a good laugh out of it, only on the inside of course. He was great the other two nights on set as well but I didn’t have a chance to talk to him at all those nights.
3. Was Bryan Cranston an intense actor?
He didn’t seem to be intense at all. It seemed to all just flow naturally. He would seamlessly go from being Bryan between takes to Trumbo during a scene. Some actors you see between takes seem to be constantly concentrating. He didn’t seem to do that.
4. What were the other background extras like?
All of the other extras were very professional and I think it will show in the movie. For the final two days we had about five or six guards and about 20 to 25 prisoners. We filmed the interior prison scenes in an abandoned school in New Orleans. The crew treated everyone nice and it was a great set to be on. The last shooting nights meal was steak and lobster.
5. Do you have any photos of your on set experience?
Unfortunately I didn’t take any onset pictures, in hindsight I wish I would have.
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