- Rbfskywalker and Sam McPherson are responsible for this interview.
Dustin Watchman
Dustin Watchman is an actor who has made an appearance on Lost as Scott throughout the first four seasons. He also was a stunt double for Matthew Fox. These questions were created by members of Lostpedia, and asked via email. The interview was posted on July 20, 2008.
Lostpedia: Do you watch the show?
I wait for the DVD set to come out, then I watch it all, so I can catch more clues. I usually watch an episode or two, or three. [laughs] before I go to sleep each night.
Lostpedia: Are you a casual viewer or a more serious fan?
I would say I’m a fan of the show, but I don’t critique every little thing. If I catch the clue, that’s cool.
Lostpedia: Do you have a favorite character, episode, etc?
I think all the characters are pretty cool for who they are. It’s hard to say my favorite, because I see the actors on set and how they are alike or different from their character, so I can see who really has to make a stretch to make their character believable. (i.e.: Ben is soooo [sic] evil, but Michael Emerson is soooo [sic] nice. He makes that character awesome.)
Lostpedia: How did you come to work on Lost?
I had done previous work on multiple shows as background [cast member] throughout my college time and so when LOST came to town, I worked on the pilot for three weeks straight, 6 days a week. My teachers helped me out and I did my homework on my own for three weeks. Taught myself too, for three weeks. Doing what you want doesn’t always come easy. Later came the Scott Jackson role, and later came full time crew as standing in for Mathew Fox. I just roll with the punches.
Lostpedia: Christian Bowman has stated that there was a big mix-up during production, and although his character had said he was Steve, he played the corpse that everyone called Scott. Which of these two characters do you identify yourself as, and do you think your role has changed at all over the series?
My contract says Scott Jackson, so that’s my story. Yes, there was a mix up somewhere between writing and production, and the mix-up joke of Scott and Steve came to surface in real life. Of course, any actor would not want this to happen to them, but I’m happy with how everything has turned out. Life is good.
Lostpedia: Have you created a back story for your character? What do you think his relationship with Scott (or Steve) is?
Isn’t the back story that we won a trip to Australia for something at work? Hmm…I thought that’s what it was. Once [the] season 4 DVD comes out, I’ll watch [seasons] 1-4 and catch up.
Lostpedia: Are you disappointed that, even though your character has been mentioned many times, you have not had too many lines?
More lines would be great, but I’m not going to complain. Yes, more money would be great, but that’s everyone’s quest in life [laughs]. More air time would be cool too, because I like to laugh at myself on TV too. I thought at one point that production may straighten out the mishap [about the character mix-up] since they mention Scott a few times more after the death, but it never came to light.
Watchman in season four.
Lostpedia: What is one interesting story from your time on set?
One day, myself and another fellow stand -in for Terry O'Quinn were working together. When the two of us [are together] it’s like a stand-up comedy routine between the two of us. We could not stop laughing for anything. We were listening to other crew members working around us and putting their words into the context of another subject and it was just hilarious. We had tears streaming down our faces that day. I haven’t laughed that hard since who knows when. I won’t say what the subject was though....
Lostpedia: Out of everyone on the set, who do you like to hang out with? Who are your on-set buddies? On set, I sort of keep to myself. Every morning there is the usual “Whats up's” and “hello's,” but then I usually throw on my headphones or pull out the Sudoku book. There’s a lot of down time to think about what needs to get done outside of work or what I want to do in my time off. It’s quite nice getting paid to have time to think about what you need/want to do later.
Lostpedia: In what direction would you like to see your character go in during future seasons?
Honestly, I don’t know if Scott would ever come back. It would be cool to see his absence explained by him also being a time traveler or something. Only time will tell...