I was on set for 3 weeks back in the summer of 2000 in Asheville, North Carolina to be a double for Gary Oldman as 'Mason Verger'. It was a 3 hour make-up job for him, so they wanted to have me around for over the shoulder shots, big wide shots, hand inserts, and one particular nude shot of him in a bathing tank (a shot that never happened).

This is often done if a star of his caliber doesn't want to go through all the fuss for such throw-away moments. But to Gary's credit, he didn't want anyone doing any of his role for him (EXACTLY how I would have felt), so there I was with all of his lines memorized and ready to step in anywhere they needed, but alas, they never needed me. I could have felt demeaned by this arrangement, except it paid well enough for me to just enjoy the ride, and have a great vacation at the Biltmore Estate (as Mason Verger's home).

There was one day when Gary had already been wrapped for the day, but they needed a wide shot of Julianne Moore walking into his enormous bedroom for her first visit. So into make-up I went and into the bed surrounded by mosquito netting for a beautiful wide shot. Julianne came in and exchanged a few lines with me (about her Mustang car) and we were done in about 20 minutes. Not bad getting paid 3 weeks for 20 minutes of work, eh?

Julianne was a sheer delight, and meeting Anthony Hopkins and Ridley Scott didn't hurt any either. My very favorite actor on the set was Zeljko Ivanec. He is a well credited actor who was currently a regular on HBO's "Oz" as the governor (or was it the mayor?). He and I hit it off, and spent free time hiking in the GORGEOUS mountains surrounding Asheville.

 

Doug Jones,
Los Angeles, C.A., October 3rd, 2004