An interview with Chris Nendick by Sgt Pepper

Chris Nendick stars as Detective Steve Hersh
in the film 

Chris-BJ-Bubba.jpg (23330 bytes)

BJ: I'm sitting here with Chris Nemdick...

Chris: Nendick... It's a tough one to say... It's N...e...n...dick.

BJ: Nendick... Who starred in "AOK" with Terry and uh... I'm Sgt.Pepper of course...

Chris: Hello...

BJ: Ah Chris... what was it like for you to... portray an actual living human being and what did you have to do to... portray the person in his proper light?

Chris: I asked Tony Hornus what he expected of me as far as actual portrayal of an actual detective. He said,
"Just to capture the essence of what was written in the script as he had consciously decided to take care of that in the simple way that it was written in the dialogue in the way that it was set up. I didn't pursue the detective to get any nuance with him... I kind of made a choice to be as actually honest as I could in the role as myself as I would be.
I did get to meet the other Sergeant... Mark and he gave me a few pointers on the side... a few ideas. He was pleased he was satisfied as to how it came out. So we ended up in the end actually being representative of the two.
He thought that we did a good job. It was not a whole lot of preparation but a little bit of trust between Tony and I and Chuck.

BJ: This interview is being conducted for HUM90, it is a "Tour of Duty" site and because of Terry... I want to ask you what was it like to be on the set with Terry?

Chris: Terry... I didn't actually have any on screen time with him,  I didn't have a whole lot of time with him but what I do notice about Terry is... he is very distinct in what he does.
He helped us get the film moving, and helped get the dialogue paced. He is very good at things especially in that sense. He is a humble guy... he is quiet and shy and I respect that I really like that about him.
I wish that I had more time to work with him and watching him there are things that I... as a person, hope that I would do, in my course.
I think that he was a great guy to have on the set.
He's simple... which is a great quality for an actor.
I don't know how to explain it correctly but when he talks with you... when he's doing what he is doing... there is always the reality of it.
There's a little bit of pain inside of what he is doing. It's kind of like there is something on with him physically that's moving him. It's another element that a lot of actors tend to forget about.

BJ: What was the other people's reaction who knew the detective that Terry portrayed when watching Terry?

Chris: I didn't have any contact with anybody who had given me an opinion on that aspect of his performance in the movie... so I couldn't really say... That's a good good question. I wish that I could answer it better for you.
I guess the closest that I can get is that the people who are from the town of Owosso... from the comments that I hear... They were all very appreciative of the amount of work and care and the quality of the film.
That it was at least it was done in such a way that it was respectful. And he had a big part in it and he cared a bit and I think that he did a wonderful job. In my humble opinion.

BJ:I want to thank you for the interview and for giving me the extra time...

Chris: Absolutely...