Ari Stidham
sat down for an AMA yesterday and gave us a little bit more insight into his
life, his Scorpion castmates, and what three things he can’t live without! Read
some of the highlights below!
Hi guys. I'm
Ari Stidham. I'm an LA native. You might know me from SCORPION as
"Sylvester Dodd." I also make music as DrTV. And if you know my
music, then I'm probably a bigger fan of you! I'm a comedy nerd. AMA please.
Victoria's helping me via phone.
Q: Is this verified? I feel like this
should be verified. Sylvester would not be cool with this not having been
verified.
A: We just
verified it. And you are correct.
Q: How are u close to Sylvester’s
character?
A: I am
pretty close in the anxiety world to my character of Sylvester. I suffer from
high anxiety, which is like, anxiety attacks, when I'm under stress and
pressure. And I also sorta started, a little bit before I auditioned for the
pilot. So that became this driving force, when I auditioned for Sylvester, and
it just sorta works!
Q: Do you have any funny stories from
filming Scorpion?
A: Yes, I do
have a funny story. We were at this airport, it must've been mid-December, 2 in
the morning, shooting this episode where Walter has to sort've go undercover as
a secret agent, and we had this plane that we're chasing with this truck
because our show is crazy-action-packed, and at 3 in the morning, they call us
to set, and I go to set, and they're like "Well, where's everybody
else?" and they're all literally asleep in a warming van! I mean, it's not
a hilarious story, but it's the one I've been thinking of the most since we
wrapped. It's like "We gotta wake 'em up! It's 3 AM!" just fun stuff
like that.
Q: Do you like numbers like
Sylvester?
A: I'm in
general agreement with numbers. If numbers show up at a party, I'm like
"hey, whassup." I'm not a math guy. I'm more of a "watch a
movie" guy. But numbers are super-necessary, and I respect them.
Q: What do you like to do in your
free time?
A: I hang
out a lot with my girlfriend, you can see that on instagram. . Lately I've been
resting and rehearsing for my live show with my band DrTV, so I've been in my
apartment holed up working on my live music show, and writing a bunch of stuff
- there's a podcast coming out that I'm co-writing, so it's just been a very
creative hermit environment in my free time.
Q: What's the hardest thing you've to
say while being on Scorpion?
A: Okay. Get
ready. "O-ethyl-methyl-phonic acid." It is so complicated and hard to
say. It is really hard to get out of your head. So I will remember that for the
rest of my life. Try saying it three times fast! Your tongue will fall out of
your face!
Q: How was your casting day?
A: My
casting day was insane. Basically, I went in on a Saturday morning, which
doesn't really happen that often, and i got the call the night before, and the
part was for a 35 year old African-American man, and they did not know what
they were going to do, from what I can tell. They saw me for a much smaller
part a few days before, and called me back on a Saturday, and they had 8 pages
of genius dialogue for me, I got it the night before, and it was a helluva
night running that stuff! And once it stuck, I was thinking that I had
something people could dig. So I was confident walking into the audition, but
she only let me do it once, which freaked me out. I didn't think I did well.
And for series regular parts, you have to test with network heads, studio
heads, producers & higher-ups... and everybody apparently just watched my
tape of the one time I did my audition. So it was a dice roll of them casting
me! But then I got the part on Sunday night, and on Monday started, So it was a
very quick turnaround for me.
Q: Do you have any funny stories from
filming Scorpion?
A: Yes, I do
have a funny story. We were at this airport, it must've been mid-December, 2 in
the morning, shooting this episode where Walter has to sort've go undercover as
a secret agent, and we had this plane that we're chasing with this truck
because our show is crazy-action-packed, and at 3 in the morning, they call us
to set, and I go to set, and they're like "Well, where's everybody
else?" and they're all literally asleep in a warming van! I mean, it's not
a hilarious story, but it's the one I've been thinking of the most since we
wrapped. It's like "We gotta wake 'em up! It's 3 AM!" just fun stuff
like that.
Q: Do you like numbers like
Sylvester?
A: I'm in
general agreement with numbers. If numbers show up at a party, I'm like
"hey, whassup." I'm not a math guy. I'm more of a "watch a
movie" guy. But numbers are super-necessary, and I respect them.
Q: What do you like to do in your
free time?
A: I hang
out a lot with my girlfriend, you can see that on instagram. . Lately I've been
resting and rehearsing for my live show with my band DrTV, so I've been in my
apartment holed up working on my live music show, and writing a bunch of stuff
- there's a podcast coming out that I'm co-writing, so it's just been a very
creative hermit environment in my free time.
Q: What's the hardest thing you've to
say while being on Scorpion?
A: Okay. Get
ready. "O-ethyl-methyl-phonic acid." It is so complicated and hard to
say. It is really hard to get out of your head. So I will remember that for the
rest of my life. Try saying it three times fast! Your tongue will fall out of
your face!
Q: What's it like playing a scorpion?
A: It's
great. I'm not playing a vicious insect. But it still has its perks. Haha.
Um... I have fun every day. I get to play around, like I'm in an
action-adventure movie. And I get to say "I'm not just playing pretend - I
get to play someone who's WAY smarter than I am!" It's awesome.
Q: What's it like working on set with
a couple, a chihuahua, a "father figure" (Robert) etc? Must be one
crazy crew! Can you tell us a bit about the dynamic on set? Wonderful cast
chemistry?
A: Great
cast chemistry! Everybody's into getting into the rhythm of "smart people
talk" which is SUPER-important to our show. Everybody pretty much comes
prepared, and we love the show, so it's great to work with people who are fans
of the things they're making. The cast dynamic is great.
Q: What is your favorite episode?
Favorite scene?
A: Favorite
episode? Probably... this last one, "Young Hearts Spark Fire." It was
an episode where I got to have a hero moment, which was really fun. And my
favorite scene was probably the scene at the end of "Going South,"
where I dance with Megan but she really can't dance. It's a positive, cute
relationship moment.
Q: A funny cast shooting moment?
A: Gosh...
there was ... I sorta want to see if it makes it to air, but there was a moment
on the last day of shooting when Eddie and I were throwing in ad-libs in our
scenes. It was a short, funny scene. And hamming it up a little bit. I guess i
was hamming it up more than he was, he was great. I might have been a little
bit hammy. And that was funny, because I know there will be some stuff on the
blooper reel from that.
Q: Can you describe each member of
the cast in one word?
A: Okay…
Robert: Lion
Elyes:
Dragon
Eddie:
Anteater (really smart)
Kat: Phoenix
Jadyn: Ember
(like an)
Ari: Lioncub
Q: Are you learning a lot from having
such a seasoned actor like Robert Patrick on the show with you?
A:
ABSOLUTELY. In every interview I've ever given, I usually say how much I've
learned from him, because he's taught me how to act for camera. I truly didn't
know anything about camera technique, or the specificity of on-camera acting,
and we had him and an amazing acting coach named Steven Bridgewater whom Robert
brought, and they just turned it around for me. I mean, I don't think I was
going downhill, but they gave me a fresh perspective and got me to start going
back to school. I practice! It's just a new language I'd never spoken before.
That's ALSO stuff I like to nerd out about - my job! It's cool that I get to do
that!
Q: Do you and Katharine McPhee have a
duet planned anytime soon? You guys would be great together!
A: WE Do!
There's a song called "Just Us" on my new EP coming up... and the
release date is still TBD, but it's going to be this summer. We don't have a
specific date, but it's going to be a summer release. There's gonna be a music
video, all kinds of stuff in the works.
Q: What are 3 things you can't live
without?
A: Water...
music... and a DVD of the 80's classic film FOOTLOOSE.
Q: Are you excited about season 2?
A:
ABSOLUTELY excited about season 2. I think our characters have so much more
in-store. And there's going to be a lot more relation-shippy stuff, and a lot
more action. I'm promising you these things as a blind man, because I haven't
read a single script, but I can surmise from our first season that we're gonna
have some love, some action, some comedy.
Q: Ari, the writers seem pretty
clever, but has anyone raised the point that the title card says
"close" Scorpion in code? = Close Scorpion, would = Open Scorpion. Is
this intentional and foreshadowing a time when Scorpion will have to go rogue
and hide from the government with a new team name?
A: No
comment. Maybe you know too much...
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