My Name Is Bill Cipher One Shots

Cast Interviews: Part 1

Author's note: Hello, readers! The "Cast Interviews" one shots are an AU of the series where the characters are actors and the series is a show they're filming. There will probably be more than one of these, and if you ever have a "viewer question" for them, just drop it in the comments!

Cameraman: Thanks for taking a few minutes off-set to answer some viewer questions! The first thing we have to ask today is who among you has the most difficult acting job?

Bill: Yule has it hardest. He's always present when we're acting, and technically performing with us, but he's never actually next to us.

Cameraman: Could you explain that to the viewers?

Yule: I can! We use Pepper's ghost effect. That's an effect that reflects myself onto the set and makes me look like I'm really there, except I'm transparent, and people can pass right through me. If you've ever seen the ballroom ghosts on the Haunted Mansion ride at a Disney park, it's just like that! I'm always positioned somewhere specific off-set, and a plexiglass wall is set up to reflect me, and a kind of spotlight is used to illuminate me whenever I need to appear visible. The only computer editing used is to make my arms and ankles vanish, because that's the only affect we can't do in real life. The rest is all authentic illusion.

Cameraman: Could you explain your makeup process, Yule? Is all of that done in person, or are parts of that also computer edited?

Yule: It's all actually done to me. The biggest change was that I had to bleach and dye my hair for filming. So my hair is always this dark gray color now, even off-set. I wear color contacts to give my eyes the gray color. And the rest is all makeup to make me appear pale. They always use palettes of whites and grays to give me this complexion. It's really hard to avoid touching my face sometimes, though.

Cameraman: Is it hard acting without your fellow actors next to you?

Yule: Yeah, it's pretty difficult. I miss when my character was alive, and I actually could physically be on the set. Now, I can't even look at my Pepper's ghost reflection to make sure I'm facing someone right or touching the right object or whatever. It often takes dozens of takes to get a single scene that I'm in right, especially if I have to act like I'm touching someone. That's the hardest part. My character had the ability to phase or not. I don't. It's really precise work. But somehow, it all comes together.

Cameraman: Bill, how do they do your missing eye in scenes without the eyepatch?

Bill: That's mostly special effects, but there's a little makeup involved too. Kinda like how they did up Mackenzie Cook in Pirates of the Caribbean. But most of the time we don't have to do that, because of the patch, so that's good.

Cameraman: This next one's for Yule: You, Florian, and Tyler aren't related, are you? How come the three of you look so alike on screen?

Yule: A lot applicants for casting. I was the base for what my character's brother and his double should look like, so the casting director first asked for look-alike applicant photos, and then called some in who might make a good fit. And that's how we got Florian and Tyler, who are actually brothers. What we can't make up for with appearance for them, we make up for with makeup. It always comes back to makeup, doesn't it?

Cameraman: Sebastian, you and your character's toddler counterpart are played by two different actors, obviously. Do you know how the casting process for him and the other Redd children worked?

Seb: Yes! Snap is my nephew, actually. And the other kids are children of the other actors on set. Tulip and Dandelion are actually twins, and they're Mac's children. Aster is Luna's actual kid, so that worked out well.

Cameraman: Florian and Yule, how was the reveal to Tyler scene done? Which parts were Yule and which parts were Florian?

Florian: I was my character up until he was glamoured to look just like Yule.

Cameraman: So you weren't with your actual brother in that scene, Tyler?

Tyler: Nope. That was all Yule.

Yule: That scene had to be filmed. many times because I was playing two different characters. I even got to get my hair dyed back to play Florian. It was a nice change. I appreciated being alive and on set again.