Exclusive: On the Set of CHUCK with Zachary Levi

In honor of CHUCK Week here on GMMR, I thought I’d share with you again some of the highlights on my most recent visit to the set of CHUCK.

“We all live in a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine.” A catchy Beatles tune, yes, but also the song that was stuck in my head for days after visiting the set of CHUCK..  Why?  Because it’s one of the many songs that CHUCK star Zachary Levi would break out into during each and every cut.  His singing was infectious, and on this particular Beatles tune he was joined by co-stars Yvonne Strahovski, Adam Baldwin and more than a few of the crew working to set up the scene. That’s the type of vibe you get walking on to the set of CHUCK. It’s a fun place to be.  And I had a blast while I was there.

Our CHUCK adventure, which took place a few months ago, started just a few minutes after my friend Steph (who tagged along for the trip) and I arrived on the Warner Bros set.  As we waited to meet up with the fabulous Jamie to show us around, Ms. Yvonne Strahovski herself walked right by us and on to the stage.  She looked stunning, as usual, in her signature Orange Orange uniform. Seriously, it’s a sin to look that good.

As soon as we walked on to the set we were immediately greeted by a gaggle of nice people who went out of their way to get us set up with chairs, sides (the script they are shooting for the day), and headphones to listen in on the dialogue as the scene was shot. They were kind enough to let us get settled in right next to director Patrick Norris so we could watch along on the monitors.

As the scene set was being set up we could hear the booming voice of Mr. Levi. The aforementioned singing along with his general wackiness had everyone cracking up. And though I wasn’t intentionally eavesdropping I did overhear one of the women on the crew say that he was like this everyday.  “He really sets the tone for everyone. He’s always like this.  It’s a lot of fun. He makes sure of it.”

During our time on set,  we watched as Zac Levi (Chuck Bartowski), Yvonne Strahovski (Sarah Walker), Adam Baldwin (John Casey) and Bonita Friedericy (General Beckman) shot a scene in The Castle – the secret base of operations hidden beneath the Orange Orange. In this particular scene, which you’ll see in tonight’s “Chuck vs. The Beefcake”, General Beckman briefed the team on the status of Cole Baker (played by Jonathan Cake), a Fulcrum agent who is not only a ladies man but a dangerous operative in possession of important information.  Sarah is instructed to retrieve the intelligence by “whatever means necessary” – an order that Chuck tries his hardest to appear unphased by. But when Chuck flashes on Baker and realizes that the intelligence is hidden in a very, um, sensitive place on his person, Mr. Bartowski can only do so much to hide his displeasure. He’s not thrilled at the idea of having his faux (ex – yes, I said EX) girlfriend cozying up to the deadly but gorgeous Fulcrum agent.

Watching Zachary, Yvonne and Adam play off each other in the scene was fantastic.  They did a lot of takes but no two were the same.  The first few times the lines were straight from the script, but with each take the actors took some liberty to play with the lines and really make them their own.  And to be there in person as Chuck Bartowski “flashed” was pretty special.  Sitting as home we experience Chuck’s “flash” with the accompaniment of music and visual images letting us know what he sees.  In person watching them film, its really all about Zac Levi’s eyes rolling around in his head as he tries to looks dazed and confused. I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t something a little sexual about it. What? You know you’ve thought it!

Some pictures from day on the set of CHUCK

As they were setting up the cameras for a reshoot, Zac walked back behind the set to where we were sitting.  It was surreal to see him in his Buy More get up. Chuck Bartwoski – right there! After about a minute he caught my eye and walked right over to us. As I said I’ve met Zac a few times, but to be honest I would never expect that he would remember me.  He meets so many people in the course of a day, month, year that I wouldn’t think that he would recall this blogger chick he met a few times.  But he did, and I was touched.

Since Zac had a few minutes between scenes we took a walk outside so we could chat for a few. He is so easy to talk with that 15 minutes had gone by before I had even asked him a question. We talked a lot about the crowded Monday night schedule, and I had the distinct pleasure (?) of being the first to inform Zac that CHUCK and HOUSE would be going head to head on Monday nights. After the shock wore off, Zac took in stride: “Bring it on, Hugh Laurie.  Bring it.  You and your fake American accent. We’ve got fake accents on this show too. Don’t think you’re special.”

The always joking Zac got serious when he talked about how proud he was to be on the show and how lucky he felt that NBC was giving them a real chance to find an audience.

The day I was on set happened to be the last day of filming for PUSHING DAISIES, which shot right next to CHUCK. The reality of that show’s cancellation resonated with Levi:

“You never know what people are going to respond to.  Look at PUSHING DAISIES. They got how many Emmy nominations in their first year? Those guys are my friends, my neighbors. We grew up together. We were in this together and now they are over.  Just goes to show that you have to enjoy it while it’s here.  I’m trying to have fun everyday. I have the best job in the world, and I know it sounds like a cliche but it’s true.  I work with awesome people and look where I go to work everyday? It never gets old. It’s the greatest blessing in the world to have a job like this. I get paid everyday to live in a world of make believe. It’s incredible.”

We hung outside and talked for about a half hour and during that time at least twenty crew members walked by, and Zac greeted every single one of the by name.  “I spend more time with these people than I do my family and friends.  We go through so much together.  There’s marriages, births – all these major life changes happen all while we are working on this little show – and it’s amazing to think that there will come a time, hopefully years and year and years from now, that I won’t see these people everyday.  I try not to think about it too much because I want to enjoy the moment.”

When a cart full of tourists on the WB set tour drives by, Zac greets them all with a big hello and wave.  I saw the excitement on the faces of a few of the CHUCK fans on board and I was excited for them. “The fans are everything to me, to us.” said Levi. “There’s so much to watch on Monday nights and to think people skip all those other shows and watch CHUCK, it’s crazy.” Zac talked about how much he truly enjoys meeting the fans, and how he learned early on, at the premiere screening at Comic Con who the fans were, the real audience for the show, and he was psyched to know they were just like him.  “I’m one of these fans. I don’t just mean for my own show, but I’m just like the fans of CHUCK.  For me it’s LOST. But I get it.  I get the excitement.  We had Dominic Monaghan on the show and I was following him around on set trying to get info.  Of course I was acting all cool about it. We would be in between scenes and I’d casually look over and say, ‘Hey Dom.  So, um, about the smoke monster.  What can you tell me?’  Of course there was nothing he could spill, but I was so excited just to have him there.  So I get it.  I get the excitement of the fans and I really get how important they are to the show, and frankly to me.  So thank you fans for giving me a job.  Please keep watching so I can pay my rent.”

As Zac was called back to set, we headed over to the Buy More.  Sadly it was all locked up as they weren’t filming there for the day, but it didn’t mean we didn’t have a little fun playing around on the other sets.  With the cast and crew at lunch, Steph and I explored The Castle and geeked out taking pictures in Sarah and Casey’s “office”.  Steph did her best impression of Sarah when she snuck into the Orange Orange. And I practiced giving the debrief from the desk of General Beckman. I won’t apologize.  I’m a geek and a fan – of course I was going to play while everyone was away.

Soon it was time to leave. I had a spectacular day and I felt honored to be there representing all the CHUCK fans here at GMMR. Here’s to hoping NBC gives the pick up soon so I can head back to Chuck Bartowski’s world again soon!

A special thanks to Josh Schwartz, Jamie French (whom I adore beyond words…swak!), Warner Bros and NBC for giving me the opportunity to visit the set.  Thanks to Zac Levi, Yvonne Strahovski and Adam Baldwin for letting us hang out while you worked. And thank you to everyone at CHUCK for making us feel so welcome! Stay tuned to GMMR as I’ll have more from my interview with Zachary Levi soon!

Tune in to CHUCK on Mondays at 8pm.  And do us all a favor and tell your friends to tune it.

In case you couldn’t see the video above, here are the pics from the CHUCK set visit.