My Second Season with the Hopp

by Jocko Sims (Anthony Adams)

It’s around 10:30pm during a weeknight in early fall. We have two more scenes to shoot. We’re on a soundstage doing a scene in episode nine where my character has an emotional breakdown and reveals the disappointments of his life—how he had potential but he’s had so many his failed attempts, and now his future looks empty. It’s the end of the night, and everything is moving fast. We barely have time to set up the shot before they’re slating and rolling sound.  

We’re shooting with the camera focus on Dennis Hopper’s character, Ben, first. My character, Anthony, begins to take out his frustrations on Ben. As I’m saying my lines, I notice that Dennis starts to tear up. His eyes become watery, his nose red. The lines that are written for me are good. Any true friend listening to the things Anthony is saying to Ben would become emotional the way Dennis is, in this moment. But wait a minute...aren’t we acting?  

I continue to do my lines, but these are the thoughts going through my head at the moment. 1) Is he really crying...? Yeah that’s...yeah...he is crying. 2) How the hell did he come to that emotional state so quickly? There was absolutely no time between the seconds ago when he was frustrated about something I can’t remember. It was either where he was supposed to stand, or his eye-line, or he was frustrated with the script supervisor (it had been a long day). There was no time between that, then them slating, then me talking. My body is acting, but my mind is in awe. “This man has definitely still got it,” I think to myself.

I’ve yet to ask him where he went emotionally that night, nor how quickly he got there. The moment is a testament to the writing this season as well. This year, as you’ve probably noticed, is much darker, and provides for moments such as this. I’m not sure how the scene will be edited, if it will air at all, or if you will have enough time to notice Dennis’s emotion, but on that night, it felt like something magical happened. It was my scene...but I think he stole it. And there isn’t another person I’d rather have pickpocket me than Dennis Hopper.