Posted in: ABC, TV | Tagged: Boston Legal, Jim O’Heir

Boston Legal: O'Heir Grateful to James Spader for Key Scene Reshoot

Jim O'Heir (Parks and Recreation) reflects on how Boston Legal star James Spader help to fight reshoot their pivotal season one scene.

Jim O'Heir is always thankful for all the opportunities in Hollywood with a career spanning over 30 years. Attributing his success to hard work, humility, and attentive co-stars, the actor's been a mainstay on film and television, appearing in over 200+ projects, including Bad Times at the El Royale (2018), Logan Lucky (2017) and Liza on Demand. While promoting his latest work, Welcome to Pawnee: Stories of Friendship, Waffles, and Park and Recreation, O'Heir assembled a collection of anecdotes and stories from the cast and crew of the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation, playing fan favorite Jerry Gergich, one of the most endearing straight characters with certain "gifts." It also provided an opportunity for the actor to reflect on his long career, including a guest role on ABC's Boston Legal that starred James Spader and William Shatner in the season one episode "Loose Lips," the title a play on the naval phrase "Loose lips sink ships."

Parks & Rec Star Jim O'Heir on James Spader, Reshooting Pivotal Scene

O'Heir recalled the experience on the Boston Legal season one episode to Entertainment Weekly, where he played Gil Furnald, a department store Santa Claus, who was fired upon the discovery he is a gay cross-dresser. Alan (Brad Chase) takes up Gil's case but not before wagering with Brad (Spader) where the loser must be the "elf" for the other. Directed by Jeannot Szwarc, O'Heir broke down the pivotal final scene and how Spader stood up for him, "We did the first take, which was okay. Not great… but okay," he wrote. "I knew I could do better. After the second take, the director said, 'Great. What do you guys think?' I took that as his saying that it was good enough and that we could wrap this thing up. I knew I wasn't fully content with my performance, but I also knew that everybody wanted out."

The actor recalled Szwarc asking if he was content with the scene, but O'Heir was tentative as a guest star, insecure about not having the clout, and crew already breaking down the set. "Spader looked at me, then leaned in tight. 'What do you think, Jim? Were you happy with the take?' 'It was okay,' I said. I couldn't lie to James Spader. Dude is so intense, in the best way," O'Heir wrote. Finally, Spader asked, "'Want to do it again?'" He responded, "I would, but we're kinda under the gun here, no?' The director heard me say this; his eyes widened. 'Yes, yes, yes we are,' they told me… Spader must've had eyes behind his head because he turned to the director and, without hesitation, said: 'Respectfully, we're going to do this again. And then again. And then maybe another time after that.' 'Dayum,' O'Heir thought. "The director snapped awake. The crew got into place. Action was called."

O'Heir remains thankful he got his moment to create another highlight for the critically acclaimed David E. Kelley legal drama. "There's a heartfelt scene toward the end of the episode where my Gil and Spader's Alan Shore are sitting in a bar," he elaborated. "I should say that this was one of the last scenes we shot after a grueling 10-day schedule. As it was, we were already behind. But now, we had a big scene to shoot — perhaps the biggest scene — and we were again running late. By the time the cameras were ready to roll, it was 'golden time,' which refers to work that goes beyond the planned shooting schedule, at which point cast and crew need to be paid extra. Adding to the anxiety permeating the room was the fact that the scene centers on Gil and Shore sharing a personal, reflective conversation." Less than a year later, "Pawnee" came calling. For more, you can check out the full piece. Welcome to Pawnee is available in bookstores.

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