Interview with Firefly veteran Danny Nero part 5
More with the incomparable Danny Nero. Here, in addition to everything else, he talks about working on a horror movie great.
D: What other shows have you worked on?
Danny: What other shows have I worked on? Did I mention I started back in 1981?
Actually my first time in front of the cameras would be back in 1958 when I was one of several children working on the Christmas episode of “The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show”. It was a popular variety show that aired weekly on NBC and my mom was part of his backup singer/dancer group called “The Top 20”. I have a shot from that if you want it but I’ll have to dig for it.
D: Please. That would be great.
Danny: Anyway I am on the floor of a living room set as mom and the other 19 adults sing some Xmas songs with good old Ernie Ford and the special guests Jon Provost and Lassie. I was 6 and don’t really remember much about that performance but watching the DVD made from a kinescope, you’d swear we kids were there at gun point! That was back in the days of live TV so we did a show for the East Coast and then another for the West. Mom had a nice 5 year run on that show.
Years later she joined the Screen Extras Guild and did very well as a “Dress Extra” for over 30 years. She’s probably best known for her small part in the original “Poseidon Adventure”.
So back in early ’73 she gets a 3 day call on a film at MGM that would also need dozens of non-union extras so she suggested me. It was “Soylent Green” and we worked in scenes in a NYC cathedral where we were camped out on the floor. It was actually Winter when this was shot but they sprayed all of us with glycerin to make us look sweaty. Chuck Connors was playing a hired killer and I remember him stepping on my hand in one shot. They had to cut when he apologized to me.
Watching the film later made me grateful that I wasn’t involved in the exterior riot scenes where people got scooped up. That could not have been a good time!
So in 1981 I was working for a Multi-Media company in Hollywood and some extra work on the side. My first SEG job was on “Mommie Dearest” and then “Poltergeist” a week or so later. I eventually had my own LAPD uniform and also worked as a college student, reporter, lawyer, doctor etc. Back then it was a relatively small group of a few hundred people that worked on shows like “The Love Boat”, “Dallas”, “Taxi”, “St. Elsewhere”, and “Hill St. Blues” to name a few.
From ’90-’94 I was a Casting Director at Central Casting. It was a nice group to work with but I found I am just not cut out for a desk job! I handled a 
bunch of different shows but the most challenging was “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. Lots of very specific background types needed there along with coordinating the various regulars according to uniform color, gender, race, etc. that made it pretty labor intensive. A very nice production company though and they always included me on their crew gift list. (Next Generation image courtesy of the Star Trek t shirt category)
One of the last pilots I worked on at Central was “E.R.” and months later when it was picked up and ready to go into production, they requested me to work it. When they found out I was gone from Central but now working as a stand-in, they still wanted me! I worked the first week of the first episode standing in for Noah Wylie. Who knows how long I might have stayed there if they hadn’t required that all of the stand-in’s also work in picture. I have no problem doing that once in awhile but for virtually every scene? You are doing 2 jobs and getting paid for 1 along with having to be on your feet all day and scrambling to use the toilet or get some coffee. Plus a show that relied heavily on the steadicam, it would be tough to watch your actor to see if there were any changes and be making crosses down another corridor. Again it was a nice bunch but I had to say goodbye and move on. No regrets!
I did several multi-camera shows that filmed with a live audience and that was a lot of work but I enjoyed it. A few more features and Movies of the Week and then “Brimstone” and you know the rest.
I also worked Background on a fair amount of commercials back in the 80’s and that was almost always good easy money. A Bud Light spot that started out as just background as a bartender got me up-graded to “Principal” with residuals that meant thousands of dollars when everyone was out of work because of a strike back in ’88. Very good timing there!
Interview with Firefly veteran Danny Nero part 2
Today I am continuing my interview with Danny Nero, who has worked on Firefly as well as any number of other cool TV and film projects. The photo on the left is Danny’s face coming through the wall in the Angel Episode “Rm w/A Vu”. Very cool.
D: Joss has a huge nerd following. I count myself as one of those. What is it about his style that so accurately taps into the nerd psyche? Is he a nerd himself, or does he just have an incredible insight into the sub-culture? I know he is active on a lot of the forums. Does he follow the trends and have an idea what is hot, or does his understanding of the group allow him to force the next hot thing to happen?
Danny: I don’t think I ever heard Joss refer to himself as a nerd but can’t imagine that he wouldn’t! He is so in tune with popular culture and what stories people like to see.
D: Do you find him approachable at work? For example, if you had an idea for the show you thought worthwhile would you be able to suggest it to him or one of the actors, or is that not really an option?
Danny: He’s always been very approachable but you really have to find a moment when he’s not conferring with writers, producers, and actors! I don’t remember ever making a suggestion to Joss but I know he’s consider it if it was valid. There was an episode of “Angel” that was a flashback to the early fifties where I did make a suggestion about the authenticity of something (a prop telephone) and director Tim Minear overheard me. I was immediately sorry because he made the prop people find another phone and that made their job more difficult and there are only a few phone freaks like me out there that would know the difference!
D: You worked on Firefly and also on the movie Serenity. Did you see a difference in production values between the TV show and the movie? Was the movie better funded and therefore had bells and whistles the TV show never had?
Danny: Yes there was a big difference between working on Firefly and Serenity! You’d think the feature budget would make the TV one look puny but not so much! The Serenity cargo bay was actually bigger on Firefly on the Fox lot. It was pretty close to the same size for the floor area but not as many levels high. The exterior of Serenity was also larger on the Fox lot than the one built at Universal for the feature but I doubt anyone would notice that on film. There was the luxury of time to spend on great lighting setups and camera movement that was frequently a compromise on Firefly. I wonder what your readers have to say about the “look” of the 2 shows. They were shot by two different DP’s or Directors of Photography and each guy has a different way of lighting and use of lenses and even film stock. I haven’t compared them but I imagine others have.
D: On the set did you interact with the actors much?
Danny: As for the actors on Firefly, you really couldn’t ask for a nicer bunch! The work days can be very long and it’s no fun being trapped with a bad group from any department! I have been so fortunate to have worked with such great people over the years! I think Joss does a great job choosing actors that are so talented and fun to be around!
Nathan is just a born comic and supplied countless laughs. Alan is very funny as well and if you’ve seen outtakes (and who hasn’t!) you get a sense that there was plenty of laughter to go around! Jewel has the brightest smile, she does 
light up most of a soundstage! Gina is the best hugger! Her husband Lawrence Fishbourne visited the set once in awhile and I remember watching Gina perform on a monitor next to him and when they cut, I had to tell him what a lucky man he is. He agreed! It was great to be reunited with Summer from our experience on Angel together.
(Angel Investigations image courtesy of the TV show t-shirts category)
They are a wonderful bunch alright and I was lucky enough to stand-in for Nathan later on the Fox series “Drive” that sadly lasted only 6 episodes. I am so glad for his success on “Castle” even if I was already committed to doing another show.
Adam I’ve run into on “Chuck” a couple of times and he’s been very supportive. He took me into his dressing room several months ago and showed me the finer points of Twitter!
I last saw Morena at a mutual friends Christmas Eve party with her short hair for “V”. We had a good time comparing career choices.
The rest of the cast has been elusive but there is always a chance I’ll run into them on Grey’s! My next series after Firefly was “Alias” and I stood-in for Victor Garber and Greg Grunberg, both great guys that had me working for them on many other shows and pilots.
