The scene of Lucas playing Dylan and helping Phil, and carrying him over the sofa, was captured very well in the camera. Then, after Phil thanked Dylan, Dylan goes upstairs with Haley. After the scene was completed, director Jason exclaimed, "Nailed it!"
After director Jason exclaimed that, the crew knew the scene was over, and they wrap up.
"Is this really your first performance as an actor?" Ty Burrell asked Lucas; he's clearly a bit impressed by Lucas's play there.
Lucas smiled faintly and said, "Yeah. It's my first. Quite a bit nervous, though."
When Ty Burrell heard that, he chuckled and said, "Doesn't look like it."
"Yeah, Lucas, you don't seem to be nervous. In fact, you performed quite well. It only takes one take with you in the picture; even I couldn't do that. At least in my first performance as an actress," Julie, who just sat beside Ty Burrell, said to Lucas.
Lucas smiled when he heard the praises, then he said modestly, "Thanks. But the reason it only takes one take was because the whole cast did well in the scene, not just me."
Indeed, the reason for it to be taken only one shot was because of the whole cast performing impressively well. At the same time, it is because of Julie being able to restrain herself from laughing, and Ty Burrell and Sarah Hyland not forgetting the script that made it possible to be taken in one shot.
It seems like the cast, especially the veteran Julie and Ty Burrell, really appreciated the performance of Lucas as Dylan. So, they also somehow did their best in their performance to keep up with the new actor.
However, what they didn't know was that Lucas could be considered an experienced actor, having been a small-time actor in his previous life. Despite the term "small-time" often accompanying "actor," experience is a valuable asset. In Lucas's past, he frequently performed in independent films, where superior acting skills were often required.
Meanwhile, the director and writers were pleasantly surprised by Lucas's performance.
Director Jason remarked to Steven Levitan, "That young man's performance just now was quite impressive. We only took one take on the scene—very impressive."
Christopher Lloyd nodded and added, "Even I didn't expect that kid to pull off such a performance."
Steven Levitan also chimed in, "Yeah, we only chose him because we felt the kid could naturally embody the character of Dylan, aligning with the kid's personality. We didn't anticipate him delivering such a performance."
Indeed, the writers and creators, Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, initially assumed Lucas Knight would naturally portray the character Dylan, misunderstanding Lucas's audition performance as merely reflecting his natural personality.
And, of course, not only that, during the audition, Lucas seemed to already possess some knowledge of camera awareness. The writers felt that Lucas needed just a bit of learning, and then he could portray the character Dylan seamlessly. Considering this, the writers concluded that casting Lucas for the role would be much preferable to other talents demanding higher fees. Ultimately, the network agreed with Lucas Knight, especially after viewing the footage of his audition performance for the supporting character.
Afterward, the production team reviewed the scene of Haley inviting a man into the house, Dylan. So far, crucial elements such as cinematography, lighting, and sound were very well executed, prompting the crew to prepare for the next scene.
Since Lucas only has a few moments onscreen in the Pilot Episode, the production will film the scenes with Dylan first.
In the scene where Dylan was inside Haley's room, the two watching something on a laptop, and Claire eyeing them, Claire opened Haley's room door.
The scene of Claire talking to Haley was shot, but there were a few mistakes by Julie or Sarah at times, such as forgetting lines, leading to production repeats. However, Lucas, as Dylan, didn't really have lines as he was just observing the mother and daughter arguing. Dylan wore an expression of amusement, seemingly enjoying the exchange between the girl and the woman.
And obviously, Dylan watching with amusement wasn't part of the script, but the director continued, feeling that it actually added to the funny atmosphere, seeing someone amused by a catfight. The same could be said for the writers; they didn't feel like Lucas deviating from his character without it in the script posed any problem, as long as it didn't overly disrupt and change the theme of the series.
Especially with Lucas as Dylan not having many lines, except for the scene where he met the Dunphy family, Lucas felt like expressing himself through movements.
After that, the scene of Phil and Luke shooting each other with a gun just outside the house, then the toy gun in Phil's hand seemed to be shooting on its own.
Meanwhile, Haley called for her dad, Phil, because her mother, Claire, was embarrassing her in front of her crush. She called for Phil, and Dylan followed Haley out. But as they just stepped out, the toy gun in Phil's hand shot directly at Dylan's face.
However, Lucas as Dylan being hit didn't look convincing enough; the shot repeated a few times. Before Lucas as Dylan finally took the hit in the face, his painful exclamation sounded quite funny, having a somewhat feminine tone, eliciting laughter from almost all the crew and casts. This resulted in multiple retakes, but this time, the director instructed Lucas to replicate the same painful shriek as before, and Lucas had no issue with it.
Because of that, the scene underwent several retakes before the production team finally captured the right shot, featuring the humorous scene of Dylan being hit, accompanied by his shriek of pain.
After that, all the scenes of Dylan for the Pilot Episode concluded.
Lucas also awaited the payment schedule outlined in the contract. In the meantime, for two days, Lucas interacted with the casts of "Modern Family." Even though the scenes for Dylan had concluded, and there was no need for Lucas to be present during the main casts' scenes, he still stayed in touch with the cast as he waited for his payment.
Lucas also grew closer to the child actor, Nolan Gould, and noticed that the kid was quite adept at playing the guitar. Lucas witnessed him playing a few times. Regarding Ariel Winter, she was closely guided by her mother, and Lucas observed the girl being taught about appearance-related matters.
After a while, Lucas finally received his payment of $3,000. In the pilot episode, Lucas felt quite fortunate, considering that amount equaled a few weeks' worth of work in a restaurant. What mattered to Lucas wasn't just the payment but the potential it held for his entry into Hollywood.
As for why Lucas didn't earn $13,000, as offered to his friend Paul, Lucas recently discovered that the offer was only available beyond the pilot episode of "Modern Family"—specifically, from episode 2 onward—if the actor became a regular for the TV series.
Additionally, Lucas learned that his friend Paul was offered a full contract, covering an entire season. In contrast, Lucas's contract only extended to the pilot. The reason for this was evident—he wasn't well-known, unlike Paul, who had already appeared in a few shows.