A couple years ago, I had a role in a commercial for the Chevy Equinox (the SUV you see above. And that’s me on the left.)The commercial was shot at Mammoth Mountain, a ski resort in California. At 6 a.m., as I crept up the windy road at the base of the resort, I watched the external temperature gauge in my car subtract from 0 degrees to -1, -2, to -5.
The commercial featured two couples arriving at a ski chalet. We got out of the SUV, grabbed our bags and headed toward the house. Simple enough. Except the temperature stayed pegged at -5, and I'd never been exposed to negative degrees, let alone when I was wearing just a sweater and jeans.
We couldn’t keep the car engine, and thus the heater, on because the fumes from the exhaust would ruin the shot. My bottled water was frozen solid. So were the Egg McMuffins brought to us for breakfast. So was I.
Jeff Nicosia, ace creative director/reader of this blog, wrote the commercial, and should feel free to comment and vouch what that kind of cold feels like. My fingers are frostbitten just typing about it.
But while the temp may have been negative, there was quite the positive: for three winters, I received random residual checks, which to an actor is downright catnip.
One last, inexplicable note: as excruciatingly cold as it was, I managed to leave my jacket behind at the shoot, a feat only that only I could have pulled off. It was returned to me 75 degrees later, in Venice Beach.
