MAGNUM P.I.: Perdita Weeks Shares the Joys and Challenges of Her Directorial Debut

As TC (Stephen Hill), Katsumoto (Tim Kang), and Rick (Zachary Knighton) go on a very special camping trip, Magnum (Jay Hernandez) and Higgins (Perdita Weeks) try to figure out if a professor is acting inappropriately with a student.

And while it’s business as usual on-screen, the hour was important off-screen for a very different reason: “Extracurricular Activities” marked Weeks’ directorial debut.

“It was great; I thoroughly enjoyed it,” Weeks previously told Give Me My Remote. “It was very tough being on both sides [of the camera] at the same time, because most directors come in and they can just prep—they’re not filming[, too.] Whereas I had days when I was supposed to be on [location] scouts or prepping where I was having to be on set all day [filming the episode before], and trying to have meetings in between takes.”

For the actress-director, after spending five seasons getting to know the MAGNUM P.I. world, “it was really, really fun getting to try and use the spaces in a slightly different way,” she says. “But it’s such an advantage knowing the show as I do and knowing the personalities and the whole crew. It was just the most brilliant way to start directing. I’m very well aware I skipped thousands of steps and I just feel very grateful to have been given the opportunity.”

Ahead of the episode airing, Weeks spoke with GMMR more in-depth about her directorial debut, including her collaboration with the writers and actors.

What was going through your mind on day 1 of production? Nerves? Excitement? 
Definitely a mixture of all of that. I was quite nervous. It was a big day. My first day, I had 150 background artists, which is a lot, by any standard. A lot of moving parts. It was a very complicated [setup]—we had a drone sequence with the frisbee. 

On paper, it sounded simple. But in practice, it was tricky, but really fun. I really enjoyed working…I like to feel like more of a crew member, anyway, especially on a job that goes this long. You are just one of the crew by this point, it’s not like cast and crew [are separate]. So it was great to just be properly in the trenches with them, doing all the same hours. It was just great and we were very lucky to have such a brilliant, very hard-working crew. And they just really were incredibly supportive and they really got behind me. And, yeah, it was very nerve-0wracking. But they were so kind and I just knew…you know, to be honest, if I had fallen over and got a head injury, the first AD could have done it without me there. These crew are so experienced, they know what they’re doing. They could knock out an episode without the director, to be quite frank. So props to them really. It’s just an honor to be the one who the buck stops with and whose decisions are final. It was quite an honor. 

I actually did want to ask about that opening sequence and the drone because it’s a beautiful way to enter into this episode. What led to the decision to have that be the way we enter into the story and can you speak a little bit to directing a drone?
So, that was actually in the script. That was how Katie Varney had imagined it; it was literally on the paper: drone shot, coming down…the way she’d written it was very clear. I totally saw what it would look like. 

Once we found the location with the tree-lined path through the middle of the university, it was on. It was amazing. The drone guys are so cool. There’s one guy sitting there and he’s got his VR mask on. He comes to set, and he has a little chair; he sits on this little chair and he puts his [viewing goggles on] and then there’s like a team of them, but this is the one guy and he’s like the drone guy. And he’s kind of on a computer game. 

It was really tricky to get that shot because [it] had to be the right pace. I didn’t want to see too many of the buildings. It had to be smooth and had to not hit anyone; there was a safety issue, as well, because it’s going very fast—it could do damage. Plus, making sure there are enough students in [populating] this world—I’ve got to believe that it’s just [a] busy campus. It was a challenge, but it was so fun. I’m really pleased with how it came out.

When we last spoke about your directing debut, you mentioned that Katie was one of your favorite writers. What was the collaboration like beyond the script?
She was in LA, but she was always available. We were in contact constantly—as I’m sure you know, episodic [television], you film so quickly and things do change. For a minute we lost the location, so we would do a bit of a rewrite. She’s wonderfully collaborative, and really, just so intelligent and very good at problem-solving. And was really open to some questions that I had about just minor sort of edits that I thought would be helpful on the day, just in terms of making the [production] day. We moved the location of one scene on location to the stage because I was like, “If we don’t have it on stage, we won’t get it.” And so she was great with that. 

And then with the motorcycle chase sequence, that was just a very basic outline in the original script and then we developed it. I found the location and then sort of worked backwards; reverse engineered it. It was a bit of ad-libbing, as well. We improvised a lot as we went. Yeah, it was a really, really enjoyable experience.

You had to actually direct yourself a decent amount in this episode. What did you learn about that process, both for you as a director and as an actor as the episode progressed?
At first, I was very conscious about the time. So I would not watch playback. Obviously, I very much trust the first AD and the script supervisor and the DP [who were watching]. And they know the show. They know the show almost, probably, better than I do. And so they know what we need. 

But, yeah, I learned that I did actually have to cast my eye—there were certain scenes where it was important for me to take the time to actually see my performance and go watch playback and just take that time. And sometimes [to] go again, or change the shot completely. So it’s just like trusting one’s instincts, really, more than being just constantly aware of the sand, the timer just running out. It is a very high-pressured situation. [Laughs.] A lot of people and a lot of pages you’ve got to get through. 

I’d like to take the time to enjoy it, because it is really fun. And I definitely did. And just to keep things fun, because we’re not saving lives; we’re not not curing cancer, or anything like that. It’s a fun job. It’s a fun show. Just keep that in mind.

You also got to direct your costars. How did directing them change kind of your appreciation or respect for them as actors? And how did having that knowledge of how they work impact the way you were able to actually direct them versus people who were new to you?
Yeah…the core cast, they’re such pros and they need very little direction. It is literally a case of I have to tell them what it is that I need in terms of a shot, and they just make it happen. It’s great. That’s the great thing about working with serious professionals. 

There was one shot where it was almost dark, and I needed this opening sequence of all the guys with the kids walking into the forest, and that was supposed to be like four setups. But we had no time and we had to get it in one set up, which was like one Steadicam shot. God we’ve got a great Steadicam operator— we couldn’t have made the show without this one without our A-camera guy, Keith [Jordan]. And then the guys just found the camera: It was walk, find the lens. You just thank your lucky stars you’re working with serious professionals. 

I know that Zach is always gonna bring the comedy; I mean he’s just got epic timing. And so if I need a little levity, point the camera in his direction. It’s very helpful knowing how people work. And then I talked a lot to Stephen beforehand because he’s a real cerebral actor and I loved his storyline in my episode; it was one of my favorite things about it. I just love [the TC and Cade] relationship. I think it’s the other most important relationship in the show, other than Magnum and Higgins; I love that arc. And I thought it was very well crafted by Katie, the mirror relationship with what was going on with the homeless father and son [who are also in the storyline]. We spoke a lot about that beforehand, and he really brought it. He’s a very conscientious actor, which I really appreciate. Like, he puts a lot of thought and heart into it. And I was really pleased that I was able to direct him. He honestly didn’t really need much. It was more a case of like, “I’m gonna do this this many times, so just work around, do whatever you want with it.” And, yeah, I loved watching him work.

–

MAGNUM P.I., Wednesdays, 9/8c, NBC

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