Through my work, I was at a commercial shoot earlier today. That happens from time to time, and though there are some cooler aspects to it, it’s largely a shitload of sitting around and waiting. The crew will take 45 minutes to an hour to set up a shot, and then filming the shot itself will take a whopping five minutes. An hour later, and we’re doing the same thing for another shot that will eventually amount to 30 seconds of air time.

Well, today’s shoot started with something a little different. I was there, hanging out with some of the people involved and doing my thing, when one of the actors arrived. We were going over his various wardrobe choices and finally agreed that we needed something that wasn’t there. The nice woman in charge of that department said she’d run down the street to Target. Before she left, the actor asked, “Do you have shoes for me?” I guess we all had the same confused look on our faces, because he pointed down to his feet and said, “I only brought flip-flops.” Here’s the thing: his role in the spot involves him exercising. It’s his only role, really, and he knew this months ago. Still, the producer and wardrobe lady took it in stride and said, “We’ll get some for you. What size are you?” I was still a little concerned that he wouldn’t bring shoes (or socks for that matter) to the shoot, but my astonishment didn’t last too long…because I was re-astonished. “Oh, and can you get some underwear too?” “Excuse me?” one of them asked. “Yeah, I don’t wear underwear, so I didn’t bring any of those either,” he answered matter-of-factly.

After we mocked him for a while behind his back, I tried playing devil’s advocate: “Ok, maybe we’re being a little harsh here. Sure, it’s an exercise show and he’ll be on the floor wearing shorts, but maybe he expected underwear – and shoes of all sizes – to be supplied.” “Nope!” the wardrobe woman chimed in. “I emailed him last week and again yesterday with a list of everything to bring.” “And you wrote ‘shoes’ in there just to be safe?” I asked. “And underwear too,” she replied.

So there you have it – no excuses for the shoeless, sockless Commando. While that’s not the most interesting thing in the world, it certainly made me smile a few times during my multiple “sitting and waiting” sessions throughout the day.