WARNING: Spoilers for The Rehearsal below.
Where to even begin with this one? On the third episode of The Rehearsal, Nathan Fielder’s new show for HBO, a man by the name of Patrick is trying to figure out how to convince his brother to relinquish control of a trust set up by their late grandfather. As the episode progresses, it becomes clear that this is a frustrating experience for Patrick, who cared for his grandfather during his dying days, including changing his diaper. The problem is Patrick’s brother is concerned that Patrick’s latest girlfriend is a “gold-digger,” and his brother thinks their grandfather would want him to protect Patrick’s money.
Like previous episodes, Fielder created a “simulation” so that Patrick could rehearse talking to his brother, played by an actor. But when Fielder notices that Patrick isn’t emotionally invested in the simulation, it creates an even more elaborate scenario where, essentially, Patrick is tricked into thinking the actor’s grandfather (also played by an actor) needs help digging up gold buried in the woods. When Patrick, and not the fake grandson, helps find the gold, the fake grandpa promises to leave some of the gold to Patrick after he helps him change his diaper in the woods. However, the next day Patrick learns that the fake grandpa “died,” and now the actor doesn’t want to give him the gold because, well, he’s worried that Patrick’s girlfriend is a gold-digger. It’s so brutal that Patrick actually leaves the show and never comes back.
Since the episode became available last Friday, people have been going nuts about the actor who played the fake grandpa, and it turns out he’s not technically an actor. He’s actually Vincent A. Cefalu, a former undercover ATF agent, who is understandably as gobsmacked by the whole experience as everyone else. During a hilarious and insightful interview with The Daily Beast, Cefalu opened up about how he ended up on the show:
“My No. 1 goal in all of this was to get exposure for my book,” Cefalu tells The Daily Beast, in an interview following the episode’s debut. He was referencing his non-fiction memoir Ratsnakes, about his time working as an undercover agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The TV show promised a bit of promotion, Cefalu tells me, though the hour-long interview he filmed with HBO about it didn’t make the final cut. “They fell a little bit short on their representation… that the book would be pumped, somehow, on the show,” he says.
According to Cefalu, he ended up on The Rehearsal by “pure chance.” The production had reached out to “higher-ups” in the ATF looking for undercover agents. Cefalu ended up being the lucky one, but he quickly learned that the gig was not for a law enforcement show. Instead, Cefalu found himself in the woods pretending to need his diaper changed, which he actually had fun doing.
“My fleeting 15 minutes is awesome,” he told The Daily Beast while confirming that he’d gladly work on The Rehearsal again. As for the big question of whether Fielder is like his onscreen persona or putting on an act, Cefalu says it’s all real.
“He was pleasant enough, forthcoming enough, and engaging,” Cefalu recalled. “But what you see on that show, I don’t think he’s acting. [Laughs] He’s just a quirky dude.”
(Via The Daily Beast)
