- Sam McPherson is responsible for this interview.
Christopher Jaymes
Christopher Jaymes is an actor who has made an appearance on Lost as a doctor in the episode "LaFleur." Questions were submitted by the wiki users here, and by forum users here. The interview was conducted via email on April 1, 2009.
Lostpedia: How did you land your role on Lost? Are there any interesting stories from the casting process?
I haven’t had an audition as an actor in about seven years, as I’ve been mostly writing and directing my own projects; and then randomly, April Webster, the casting director from LOST, actually FaceBook’ed me and asked if I was still interested in acting. I said, absolutely, but it’s been awhile. So, she said ‘why don’t you come in for this role on LOST?’ And that was it. I had seen the first two seasons and it was the only TV show I had actually watched in years which was sort of ironic... it definitely made me more excited about the possibility of doing the show. Anyway, I went in on it and left the meeting absolutely certain that I didn’t get it and was so ridden with anxiety I actually pulled over and smoked the first cigarette I had smoked in about two months, thinking... This is why I don’t do this anymore. The anxiety was awful. Anyway, the next day passed and I heard nothing, so again, I accepted that it was over. Then, the following day I was on the phone, dealing with my day and I glanced down to my computer and saw that I had a FaceBook message... In the header it shows the first part of the sentence and it said... “okay, so you leave to Hawaii on...” And that was sort of it. I got the audition over FaceBook and got notified about the job over FaceBook as well.
Lostpedia: Did you watch Lost before you were cast in the role? If so, where you a casual viewer or a die-hard fan?
Watched the first two seasons all on my iPod one after the other while flying around to different film festivals for the last film I made. Then, for some reason I never got around to watching the later seasons, but was always planning on it. I really hate watching weekly shows, I’d much rather get the DVDs and watch the whole season in a day or two.
Jaymes as the doctor in "LaFleur"
Lostpedia: Are there any interesting stories from your time on set?
They were pretty tight and things moved along pretty smooth, so there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Everyone was pretty happy to be there, at least seemingly, which is always a nice thing when you’re showing up on a show that’s been established for so long, as your first day, you never know what you’re going to step into. Though on my day off I went surfing and stepped on a sea urchin which was definitely pulling some of my focus while walking to and from the set. I didn’t realize it was a big deal until two weeks later when I was back in LA and it looked worse than it did while I was there. I didn’t want to go deal with a doctor visit, so I stopped by my friend who’s a vet and asked if she would mind cutting it out. I plopped up on the table and while placing the needle into the bottom of my foot to numb it, my friend started digging thinking she could get it out with the needle, next thing I know I open my eyes and my face was pressed up against a dog cage as I had passed out and fallen over. I started yelling cause the ground was all wet and I thought I was laying in dog pee. It was a good time.
Lostpedia: What was it like working with the Lost cast and crew?
Everybody was great. They were a pretty solid machine. It was nice to work with such a good bunch of people.
Lostpedia: How does working on Lost compare to your previous acting experiences?
Well... The thing I did last was a lead in a feature, which is really much easier than doing a smaller part on an established show. You have a lot more time to get into the rhythm of things, where when you step onto the set of a show, if you don’t have at least a couple episodes, by the time you finish your first one, you’re just sort of warmed up and ready to get started. I think guest stars are amongst the most challenging of jobs because there’s an awkwardness you feel coming into this world and having to get to work many times without having ever met the people in the scene. You struggle a bit with nerves and anxiety to some degree, but you don’t have the option to allow that to get in the way, as you generally only have a few takes per setup. But compared to all of the other TV shows I’ve done, this was by far the most enjoyable, and the nicest group of people... And it doesn’t hurt being in Hawaii.
Lostpedia: Did you have any lines that didn't make it past the cutting room floor?
Nope, that was it. It was all there.
Jaymes' film In Memory of My Father
Lostpedia: You wrote, directed, and starred in the film In Memory of My Father. What was the inspiration behind this movie? Do you intend to write and direct more films in the future?
I had always wanted to direct and the opportunity presented itself, though I never really intended to focus on directing, now I absolutely want to make another feature and am writing one now. I’ve been directing documentaries this past year and lots of web campaigns and commercials for non-profit organizations this past year. Somehow that has become what’s taking most of my time, but I’m looking forward to making another film.
Lostpedia: You have also written the book Boxing Day, a book about your time spent in the 2004 Indonesian Tsunami. Do have any plans to write another book in the future?
At the moment, I’m actually in the beginning phases of turning Boxing Day into a screenplay, and I’m also writing another book about the absurdities of relationships and the truth (or at least, my truth) about what goes on in a guy’s mind when dealing with women and relationships that gives lots of tips and tricks for women to use to get better results from their guy. Should be good.
Lostpedia: Have you been contacted to do another episode of Lost in the future? Would you do so if asked?
I have no confirmation of any future episodes, though everyone has said not to rule it out. And if they asked me to, I’d really have to think about it. It might be a challenge to get me to go spend more time in Hawaii, while getting paid to do one of the best shows on television, but I’d definitely consider it.
Lostpedia: Thanks a lot for those great answers, Mr. Jaymes!
Thanks so much!