This is about as unrelated as it gets, but I was once on a cooking competition show as background. I had a prep list, and while the contestants were front-stage, I was in the back of the shot, doing the prep list, looking chef-y, alongside some other BG. The prep list was double-duty, it was also making stuff for the contestants to use later, but our main job was just to make the kitchen look busier. I imagine that in most shots I was in, I was at best an out-of-focus blur behind the main shot.
So at the beginning, the contestants are showing off their knife skills and making little fruit sculptures or whatever, IDGAF, and they were being interviewed at the same time. “What does cooking mean to you?” and that kind of stuff.
I … was not supposed to be interviewed. I was BG. The interviewer apparently, did not know who was a contestant and who was BG, so they came over to me. And after all of these eloquent long-winded philosophy-and-dream guided answers, they come to me, and go “What is cooking?”
And me, deep in focus on looking professional and getting the prep list done and not listening to the interviews, aware that I’m not supposed to talk or be talked to (I’m not paid for speaking lines!), but also aware I am the focus right now, but also aware that they will cut this out of the televised part and I can relax and shrug him off, but also suddenly aware there’s still a live audience and I can’t just shrug him off, but also confused because I didn’t realize he was fishing for a deep philosophical answer: “Cooking is making food”.
Well. I got a laugh out of the live audience, and they must have decided to keep the line because my pay was upgraded from “SSE” (Special Skills Extra) rates to “Speaking” rates.
ALT
