Dollhouse

I can’t believe I’m using this movie as a source of optimism and hope, but, have you watched the movie "Dumb and Dumber"? It’s been years for me, but I vividly remember the scene where Jim Carrey’s character asks what the odds of a girl like him and a guy like her are of getting together. She finally says, "One in a million." He takes this huge pregnant pause, those of us watching know he’s gonna be destroyed and completely deflated, but his body language changes, he gets a huge grin and replies, "So you’re sayin’ I have a chance!" That, my hobbits, is the optimism we all need right now. The country, the economy, the insanely small amount of jobs and productions out here in Hollywood has made for a very unique year out of my 11 years in this business. I’ve not ever seen myself, and so many others, have so few opportunities. That will all turn around soon, I’m positive of that. And when it does, we will all be dancing in the streets (please be careful and watch out for oncoming traffic).

So, I have had an amazing opportunity to bond with my newborn daughter this year (she’s now 9 months old) and I’ve done a couple big vacations and caught up on tons of t.v. shows on DVD and Tivo. I have been running in the canyon for almost 7 months now and dropped 18 pounds of "sympathy" weight. I’m ready for a show!

This year I have had some cool opportunities (however few) and have come close to some cool stuff. There is the spin-off character of House that I met with FOX on, the role of David Boreanz’s brother on Bones, an awesome pilot by my friend John Avnet (who just directed Pacino and DeNiro in a movie and directed stuff like Risky Business and Fried Green Tomatoes and directed me in Boomtown a few years back), and recently had a meeting over at Sony (who I filmed my pilot 11 months ago for) on a new pilot (and I ran into my friend Jason Dohring—we were reading for the same role, funny) that seems really fantastic. The pilot seems to me to be a cross between "Pushing Daisies", "Entourage", "Ugly Betty" with a little "Jerry Maguire" mixed in. Sadly, those are just about the only things that have surfaced this entire year. Normally, any other non-strike, non-forclosure, non-economic-bank-crisis-stock-market-crash year all those auditions and meetings would take place in 3 to 4 weeks.

My highlight of this crazy year has been the fact that I was directed by Joss Whedon. Yes, read the previous sentence again, it’s not a type-o. I actually met with Joss around March of this year for the "Dollhouse" pilot. It was a fantastic experience and the fact that he is someone I want to work with heavily in my future, I feel that now we’re just a job away from that goal. I ended up making it through all the hoops and tested for the lead FBI character. Joss wanted to have me and one other guy screen test over at FOX with Eliza and that was an absolute treat. When he directed me and Eliza it really gave me a glimpse into what kind of director he is (which strengthened my resolve even more to work with him in the future) on set. I really like his style and energy. I got a geeky moment (and thought, Holy Frak!) when I saw who I was testing against, as I have only a few favorite shows and he is on one of them. I feel like Joss made a very strong choice with Tahmoh and I’m excited to see the show this January. Funny how things work, I would’ve preferred to star in that show, but maybe it’s his next one. Who knows? I just know that I have only a handful of guys out there that I really admire (and can quote lines from their shows) and he is one of them. One day soon, hobbits.

You tell me that I’ve got a one-in-a-million odds and I’ll reply, "So you’re saying I have a chance!