One of the first things a film/television actor learns is to never look directly at the camera. So when the production requires a defiance of that sacred rule, the process can be difficult. "Daybreak" star Colin Ford had access to an actor who perfected the direct-to-camera style.
In "Daybreak," Ford plays 17-year-old Josh Wheeler, who finds himself on his own in post-apocalyptic Glendale, Calif. A nuclear blast wiped out the majority of adults, and those who were not obliterated have been turned into zombielike creatures that walk around saying the last thing that was on their mind.
The series bounces between Josh's life pre-blast as a new student at Glendale High School and life after the big bang. Part of his performance has Ford's character talking directly to the viewing audience. Ford found himself with Matthew Broderick _ who plays the principal in the series _ early in the filming process. Broderick perfected talking to the camera when he starred in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."
"Matthew looks over at me and says 'So, I hear you have been talking to the camera.' I tell him I have and he asks how I have been finding it," Ford says. "I told him I was finding it well but one of the difficulties I have been having is that I can see myself. Before I can even finish my sentence, he says, 'You can see yourself in the reflection of the lens.' I said that's exactly it. It's like a big mirror. He said what you have to do is just block it out."
That Broderick had also faced the task of getting used to seeing himself act helped Ford to understand what he was facing was nothing that unique. That made it easier for him to handle it.
It also helped that Ford has been acting most of his life, with such credits as "Under the Dome," "Jake and the Never Land Pirates," "We Bought a Zoo," "Supernatural," "Smallville," "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd." A lot of his work has been in the science fiction and fantasy genres, both a coincidence and a reflection of how much he likes that kind of project.
"I find myself in it because I guess it is what I do well," Ford says. "I really enjoy being in worlds that don't exactly fit the norm. I am a big fan of the genre and I am happy that people have taken a liking to me in it. I hope I can do this genre and others as well because I have a big love of acting."
That love surfaced when he was 5. After watching an episode of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers," he told his mother that's what he wanted to be. She thought he meant he wanted to dress up like the heroes and bought him a Halloween costume. It was then he made it clear he wanted to be an actor.
His work on "Supernatural" came in handy when he first read the script and noticed the name of the young woman who steals Josh's heart, Sam Dean, is the same as the Winchester brothers from "Supernatural." Ford knew the series from creators Aron Eli Coleite ("Heroes") and Brad Peyton (Dr. Dimensionpants") and based on the graphic novels of the same name was going to be loaded with pop culture references.
"Daybreak" has the one of the highest concentrations of pop culture references since "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" ended in 2003. The two shows also share the same dark brand of humor based in poking fun at a popular horror genre.
"It's exciting to be part of something different but similar," Ford says. "I think one of the things they wanted to draw from the graphic novels that Brian Ralph wrote was the fact that the apocalypse is the best thing that ever happened to Josh. It is not a dreary, depressing, awful thing that's happened but it is a chance for him to reinvent and become the best version of himself."
