Eriq La Salle talks 'On Call' on Prime Video, Directing, and Redefining His Legacy

[00:00:10] Alright, Eric, thank you for joining me today on Pop Culture Unplugged. It's an honor to have you on. Oh, thanks. Great to be here. Exciting times. Our friend, you know, you have On Call Prime Video, January 9th, but I like how, you know, not only you're in it, you're behind the scenes also, so you're busy all over the place with this series.

[00:00:27] Yeah, this one is my, this is my trifecta. So I get to direct, exec, produce, and acting in it. So, you know, I loved all three of them, and it's great to see it all come together and, you know, just being able to do something that, you know, when you love, you know, you love it.

[00:00:48] You know, I love, I love directing, I love acting, I love producing, you know, so to be able to do all of them on a project that, I just, I love the writing on the show, and the style, and the originality. So this, this was, this was a good one to have that trifecta on. How did you balance, you know, being in front of the camera, being behind the camera on the same project?

[00:01:11] Um, I, you know, I, when I started out years ago, I knew that I wanted to direct, I used to do short films. And so, you know, back then I was jumping in everything I did the very first film that I did for HBO, called Rebound, I directed it, and I acted in it.

[00:01:31] Um, this is the first time I get to exec, produce, and, you know, all three, but I've done the acting, directing thing, um, you know, quite a, not quite a bit, but a decent amount. Um, and so, at every opportunity I got, if I was sometimes doing a show, I, I, uh, one time I wrote, directed, and acted in, um, a cool episode of The Twilight Zone.

[00:01:58] And, uh, you know, so, so I, I've been trying it. So, but I do feel like it, it all led me to this. Those were some great opportunities, but this was the one that by the time this opportunity presented itself, um, it was something that I was really, really ready for. As a director, how did you approach the whole, because I watched the first two episodes, uh, with the handheld cameras, cameras, the body cameras, the dash cams, you know, how did, for you, did it make it difficult? Did you find it easy?

[00:02:27] Um, I, it was, it was challenging just simply finding the balance, just simply finding, it was, it wasn't challenging to shoot it that way, but it was challenging to find what's the most organic, um, you know, what are the most organic ingredients?

[00:02:46] Like how much salt, how much sugar, how much hot sauce, how much, you know, so you never know, oh, that's too much hot sauce. It's now, now I've ruined it. Uh, so the challenge was really like the alchemy of it all. It was really, how do you, how do you build it just right?

[00:03:03] And so, um, once we really got comfortable with that, uh, and really started seeing how the show was working well in, in the emotional moments, this is what we want in the action sequence. This is what we want. Sometimes how does the combination work? Uh, so it was, it was kind of, and even still, you know, there's still more to explore there, which I love because, you know, you don't want to feel like, okay, we, we did everything we could.

[00:03:29] And so there's still a lot more to explore. There's some great challenges to, to be made. And, uh, so yeah, I'm, you know, I'm, I'm excited about it. Speaking of challenges, was there a challenge for you with this role as a Sergeant Lassman? Yeah, I think that, you know, playing this kind of character, the cool thing is he's not who you think he is.

[00:03:56] You, I'm sorry, you're, he's not who you think, you know, he is. And, and, and, and, and, and, and from some of the characters point of view, that's the cool thing. I think that the, the Troian character thinks he's one way or thinks she knows who he is. He kind of thinks he knows who she is. And so they have this very complicated relationship based on misinformation.

[00:04:23] And I've never played a character that became so defined by misinformation and assumption, as well as doing the same to someone else. And it's not until you get towards the end of the series that the revelation of who these people really are. And now we'll, where will that lead them? And that's, those are just some really interesting questions.

[00:04:50] And one thing I noticed too, you know, he's like kind of like the leader in a way also. Did you find like, uh, did you enjoy being like the leader of this group? Well, it was, you know, obviously look, it was, it was natural casting because, you know, as the director, uh, you know, you're playing the leader, you know, as the person who's directing the pilot, um, you know, you're the leader there. And, uh, you, you know, it, it, it was just, it was, it was, it was natural.

[00:05:17] Um, and so just to have different sides of him and to show different pieces of him, but yeah, first and foremost, he has to be a leader. He has to be that. And, and I have to be that in real life as the director and producer. Um, and, and, and, and, and, and it, it really worked. And because a lot of trust had been established. So by the time I put on my uniform and started acting, um, you know, it was, it was easy to accept me as that.

[00:05:46] This has a wonderful cast. Was there a specific cast member that you enjoyed having scenes with that you looked forward to? Like when you were jumping on set? Well, I think that, um, you know, I was, I was very, very fortunate to have some of my bigger stuff with Troyan.

[00:06:03] Uh, because I hadn't acted in a while and I, I felt I was rusty and, um, being able to lean on her, um, really helped me really helped me find my rhythm quicker. Cause I, you know, you're, you're directing, you're producing, you're doing all the, all this gazillion things going on.

[00:06:26] But, uh, I felt when I put the uniform on and I came out and then you realize, well, I haven't, I haven't used this muscle in a while. You know what I mean? And, and maybe other, like, you know, others can't necessarily tell, but you as an artist, you know, what you're capable of, you know, what notes you're capable of hitting. Now you might hit some really nice notes, but you also know, well, I can hit higher.

[00:06:49] You know that, wow, I'm doing some great two pointers, uh, making some great two pointers, but I'm a three point shooter, you know? And so, you know, so you can, you can play a great game, have a high scoring game, just hitting twos. But when you know, you have this thing, would you feel like I can make some threes?

[00:07:07] And so being able to work with Troy and she helped me to find that range, uh, a lot faster than I think maybe I would have had with a lesser actress. Um, I was also very, very proud of, you know, I'm, I'm, I'm proud of the, I'm proud of the actors and it's, uh, Brandon just, you know, he's just, he's a find, he's a gem. And I had some nice moments with him.

[00:07:32] And even when my character is the leader or the father figure to his character, there was, there was still some cool things I was learning from him. And last, I really was proud of Lori. I thought Lori came in and no makeup basically, like she just went so against her image and her type. And, uh, she had fun playing this edgy, more edgy character than she's ever been able to play. Um, so yeah, we, we, we had, we had fun.

[00:08:01] The cast was great. How did you guys strike like the balance between like, you know, the entertainment part of the series, plus also like the real, real world issues with like policing and what we see? Well, first off, um, all the calls that are in the show are real calls. Oh, wow. Those are calls that came from the technical advisors. Those are calls that they interviewed a lot of cops. So they just incorporated those in. So, um, they all come from this real place and that's through the whole series.

[00:08:30] So, um, you know, we all did, uh, ride alongs. And, um, uh, I, when I did my ride along and it was probably a 10 hour shift, uh, I went on, I think 11 calls and everything from the cop that I was with saved a toddler who had escaped and was, you know, out and about in the world and a diaper.

[00:08:58] And, uh, to, um, some more serious stuff that happened. So this, that's, that was just one shift one day. So the, the, the plethora of stories that's available. So, so as far as that balance goes, the balance, well, it's coming out of reality. Some of the reality is funny. Some of the reality is scary. Some of the reality is dangerous.

[00:09:26] Some of it, you know, so, but it's, it's, it's, it's, it's sort of the gift that keeps giving. Cause you, you have a, uh, probably a Bible stack of stories to, you know, to draw from. So you can just go in and grab this and grab that and then mix it up. And, oh, here's a lighter one. Here's a lighter moment. Here's an interesting character. So, uh, so that's, I think that's, that's how it's so beautifully blended because we, we, we, we're using real stories.

[00:09:54] Last question as it going back to a director, is there a specific episode that you're proud of that you can't wait for the viewers to watch? Well, obviously the pilot, you know, that just establishes the world right away. Uh, Monica Raymond, uh, who was on Chicago, uh, fire came in and, and I thought, you know, she's in the opening scene and I just, I love what she brought to it. Um, but yeah, I mean, I'm, I'm, look, I'm excited about the whole show.

[00:10:22] Uh, uh, I, I just, you know, really respect what we're going for. Um, but yeah, the, the pilot, because that's the first one that's, that's, Hey, welcome to the world. Right. And I've been honored to be the one to take you through this world, to establish this world and the rules and the characters and the vitality and the atmosphere, what Long Beach means, the culture, also all of this stuff.

[00:10:51] Uh, you know, and we put it in a half hour and say, this is what, this is what this show is. And this is the camera style. This, and we put all of that in a half hour and say, thank you. There you go. And now, now come along and join us for the rest of the season. So yes, I'm, I'm very proud of the pilot. Yes. Amazing. Eric, I want to thank you for giving me a few minutes today. Prime video jittery night down call. Thank you. This was great. Absolutely. Thank you.