Gina Bellman, Leverage: "The Wedding Job"

• Jan 12, 2009 10:43 PM ET
• by Gina Bellman

This episode is a more comedic script than the rest of the shows. Everyone has a fun character to play and some great one-liners. Tim [Hutton] gets to dress up as a priest, which Beth [Riesgraf] and I both agree makes him seem strangely attractive. We're filming in a really over the top house. It makes me wonder how a location scout pitches for a 'mafia style, vulgar, nouveau riche house' without offending anyone?  This is, after all, somebody's home, albeit someone who has an upholstered leopard skin mini-chaise for his dog.

I had a little car crash on the way to work. Someone was tailgating me up a winding road and I skidded and ended up on the bank. Nobody stopped. I'm now terrified of driving in the canyons, and since I don't drive on the freeway; this somewhat limits me when it comes to getting around LA. In England, I've never had to drive myself to work. I don't think the English producers trust actors to get up at five am and get to the set on time. Most of them would still be in the pub! My average day on Leverage starts at 5am and ends 12 to 14 hours later. An hour drive to the set and back sometimes makes the day unbearably long. You have to grab a few minutes to yourself where you can. Half hour lunch break is often spent having dialect lessons or costume fittings and then with make-up touch-ups, you get 10 minutes less than everyone else. Both Beth and I have tried to make our trailers as comfortable as we can. We are practically living in them for five months. We have comforters and pillows and our I-pods set up. We've got some twinkling hanging lights, piles of magazines and children's drawings and photo's stuck on the walls and mirrors. If I get a 21-minute break, I've learned to get my head down in a way that doesn't mess up your hair and make up and sleep.

Tim's little boy is visiting from Paris, France. We decide to put him to work. We have him do the sticks (clap the clapperboard) and shout 'Action!' before every take. The first assistant director's daughter, Cassandra, is playing a part in this episode and when her sister and Beth's son Pilot come to visit, the set becomes a minefield of chaos. Children careening around the crew, hurling themselves onto our laps, walking through the shot and chasing each other around. Fortunately, Dean Devlin has a daughter of his own and is tolerant of such things, though savvy enough not to bring his little girl along.

Christian [Kane] has a really complicated fight sequence to shoot. It's a pleasure to watch Christian film his fights. He's unbelievably prepared and professional. Fierce and graceful. Innovative yet exacting. The actor he's fighting with today is a martial arts expert who runs a film fighting school at his ranch. Beth is planning on going for a training weekend. I'm really tempted to go too but can't justify it time wise. I don't really have any fight or stunt stuff and have enough on my plate just learning my accents every week.