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September 25, 2008

GCN: What's it like behind the scenes. Would you mind describing the process of your day - from arriving on set through filming your scenes?

MP: You arrive at the studio gate off of Beverly Blvd. and check in with the security. They don't have to direct me where to go, as I am now familiar with the surroundings... I pass by the "Price is Right" audience gauntlet and proceed into the studio building through two other security points. You sign in, and then it's upstairs to the set.

You check in with the assistant director and find out where your dressing room is. The day I was shooting I passed by Thad Luckinbill on the way to the script supervisor. We ran through the lines and I went to my dressing room to change. Midway through changing, a wardrobe tech came to look over my outfit. AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) works differently than SAG (Screen Actors' Guild) as far as wardrobe. In a SAG shoot you don't bring anything personal to the set, and if you do, you get a bump in pay for using the item. In AFTRA, day players can expect to bring their own clothes to wear (unless they are playing a doctor, or somebody in a uniform).

My call was over an hour from the time I got dressed so I went to the cafeteria to get a bite to eat (a Patty Melt! God forgive me). When they called, "Eric, Chris, and Mark--we need you on the set", I was ready. You know, the sets look so lavish on TV, but when you are there, up close and personal, they really do have a little hang-dog cast to them. But, I was in the big house - uh, the Ranch - and I couldn't be happier. Eric and I rehearsed our scene - did it in two takes (the soap opera average) and we moved on. Christian told me before I left the set, "Well, we'll make sure to tell the producer that if anyone is going to protect us around here, it should be Mark Pierce." That was nice - he didn't have to say that. Again, classy.

Through for the day, I changed and headed to the elevators to the production offices to sign my contract. Amelia Heinle was in the corridor, kneeling down to her toddler who was with a nanny, I believe. I was first impressed with her work when she was in "The Sally Hemings Story" with Sam Neill. She did a mesmerizing portrayal of a biracial woman in that film, one I used in teaching American literature. Anyway, I went upstairs to sign-out, and the production assistant told me that I should expect to be getting something more than just five lines when I next appear... we'll see.

GCN: What was it like meeting the notorious Eric Braeden?

Meeting Eric was a delight for me. Around the time of my first appearance on the show, or maybe it was shortly thereafter, I had seen him and his wife in an outdoor bistro in Santa Monica. As I'd passed I thought we had a moment where we made eye contact. At first I thought it strange that he would do such a thing, but maybe he might have felt I looked familiar.

Anyway, my fascination with this actor goes back even further. I remembered as a teen watching Eric in the movie, "Escape From the Planet of the Apes". The franchise held some resonance for me, and his character, Dr. Otto Hassleine, was an intriguing character foil. I also remembered him as playing Dr. Forbin in "Colossus: The Forbin Project". This gentleman had performed with the great Roddy McDowell and Kim Hunter. I was greatly honored to share the soundstage with him during my taping, and that our scenes opened the show!

GCN: Were the cast members friendly and approachable, or were you expected to keep to yourself and not get in the way? Is the atmosphere on set very serious, or is there a sense of humor among the actors?

The cast and crew of Y&R are not pretentious in the least, and I was made to feel welcome at each and every turn during all my times on the soundstages of CBS, which are right across from where the Price is Right is taped. Peter Bergman and Jerry Douglas were quite kind and gracious to me when I worked with them back in '06, and Peter was the epitome of class when I was back on the set this year.

He happened to be passing by the script supervisor's office while I was there and I called him by name as he passed because we'd exchanged more than just the casual banter. He retraced his steps and came into the room and greeted me with a warm hand shake and pat on the shoulder. He made some inquiries about my possible run on the show, but I was in the dark about that. He told me that he'd heard the security people would be around for a spell and hoped we'd work together again. He's the tops, as far as I'm concerned. A real class act.

As far as humor goes, yes, there are times when the leads go off script and drop a zinger. Especially if there is a heavy scene where you need to lighten things up before getting into the nitty-gritty. But that is kept to a minimum and the day players wouldn't dare rock that cart.

GCN: Had you watched the show much before auditioning for this role?

Y&R was one of my mother's favorite soaps from its inception. At the time, my interests were quite male and quite adolescent, however. I only noticed what was going on as I passed through the living room on the way to the kitchen for Kool-Aid.

When I began tracking the plots of the storylines was only decades later, and I'd been offered my first bit. Two years prior to this appearance I was a prison guard in the scenes before John Abbott's character became mortally ill. I watched the episodes prior to mine just to get a feel for what was going on.

GCN: Does your character have a name or are we supposed to keep calling him That New Security Guard?

Christian LeBlanc asked me that while we were preparing for the scene with me and Chris Engen at the front door. I told him, "Yeah, my name is 'bodyguard'." We laughed.

GCN: We noticed two different guards have been featured in recent episodes. Are you going to appear again?

I was told there were others playing security. As I said when I saw Peter, there were several men hired to portray that contingent. Many people seemed to feel I would be returning after the show September 10th, from the production office on down through the cast, but it is what it is. Although I did get an additional day's pay for a scene that got canceled.

One of the things that made my small turn work was that I reacted to what my scene partners were saying. I acted not only with the modulation and elocution needed, but I acted with my eyes and with my expressions in a realistic fashion. Essentially, I did what actors are supposed to do, and that will always get you work.

GCN: What other roles, if any, have you played on daytime dramas or other TV shows?

Back in the late 80's, Bobby Hoffman, the then head of ABC Daytime Casting, wanted me to come to New York to sign a contract for "One Life to Live". They were going to bring back the character of Bobby Blue, and I was going to play the part. For three weeks I was preparing to make the move and then the show went another direction. A bit of a pisser, but life goes on.

I did some work on "City of Angels"; worked on some pilots. I also worked with Mark Hamill and the late Robert Mitchum in a spaghetti thriller called "Midnight Ride" which you may have seen on cable in years past. I played a cop who gets his squad car stolen by Michael Dudikoff. In 2006 I had a part in the Oscar Nominated film "Little Children" with Kate Winslet. I got a credit, but only my shortcomings were shown on screen.

GCN: Are you involved with the theater department at the school where you are currently Vice-Principal? Have you always had an interest in acting?

I had three other siblings out of the nine of us who were also thespians during our high school years. I not only acted, but I wrote plays, as well. In my middle school years I wrote, produced, directed, and co-starred in a play I wrote that was performed at the junior high school I attended in northern Illinois. I've written a half-dozen screenplays and one was good enough to make the semi-finals in the Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship, a prestigious competition sponsored by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences.

GCN: What has the response from your students been like? Do they think it's pretty cool?

Students and staff here, as well as parents who are fans - at the high school, and the district - have been very supportive and congratulatory to me. That is both humbling and gratifying. The students seem to respond positively to me and share their dreams, and that's what I want to hear. I want to have my small successes show them that big dreams aren't impossible to achieve.


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