Movies - TV
Battlestar Galactica and a Random Act of Kindness Landed Sam Witwer a Role in The Mist
By ANYA STANLEY
In celebration of its 15th anniversary, /Film's Eric Vespe has put together an oral history on Frank Darabont's heavy-hearted monster movie "The Mist." In our oral history, Witwer described his journey into the project as "steeped in ignorance" and "completely an accident," and it was all thanks to doing a kind deed and being in the right sci-fi movie.
Witwer recounted the time he helped a woman pick up her dropped bags from a crosswalk in the middle of a busy street, which turned out to be casting director Deb Aquila. After his helping hand, Aquila asked him to read for "The Mist," and after he nails it, he calls his agent, saying "And my manager goes, [...] She's a big casting director.' I'm like, 'Oh, well, that's good.'"
Witwer's "multifaceted, multi-viewpoint story" continues from the POV of director Frank Darabont, who was reviewing casting tapes, and fell upon Witwer’s, explaining, "it started playing, [...] And I said, 'Oh, my God, it's Crashdown from 'Battlestar Galactica.' Cool. Oh, wow. He's really good. Oh, he's really right for this.'" He was hired shortly thereafter.