On this edition of SNAPSHOTS, I am coming to you all from the Big Lick Comic Con in Roanoke, Virginia. First time here, second time at this very convention. Of all the stars I’ve been wanting to meet over the years at the various conventions, I have always wanted to meet the stars from the hit TV show JAG. When I saw our guest’s name came up, it’s like I had to go! When JAG was on the air, I was in the Navy Junior ROTC program for four years. I was left the program as a Cadet Lieutenant Commander.
Today’s guest had a great story arc and a wonderful Naval career in the series. When saw him on JAG he went from Ensign to Lieutenant Commander. Then, he was promoted to the rank of Captain in the JAG spinoff, NCIS. Nowadays, he’s telling stories and interviewing fellow stars on his own podcast.
Let’s give a salute to CAPT Bud Roberts aka Patrick Labyorteaux!
Patrick, how you doing?
How you doing, man? It’s great to be here. I appreciate it.
It is great to be here too. I cannot believe it’s now been over 30 years since we first saw JAG on NBC first and then it transferred to CBS, and Bud has continued through NCIS. How did you get the role of Bud Roberts?
So, this is a real bur in David James Elliott’s side because David had a really hard audition process, and rightfully so. I mean, the lead of a TV show, it’s a very difficult thing to cast. For me, in the pilot of JAG, the very first episode, my character Bud Roberts was a guest star, never meant to be on the show. I was just working on this fake aircraft carrier as the PAO officer. I was going to escort him around…
The Seahawk…
Right, the Seahawk, exactly. When we did the audition, it was not for a regular. And when you cast a regular part in a show, there’s all these rules. You have to go to network. You have to have all this approval. For guest stars, the producer can pick whoever he wants. In answer to your question, I got a call. They said, “Hey, Don Bellisario is doing this show.” I’m a big Magnum fan. Very excited. I got to read once for Don Bellisario, and by the time I got to my car in the parking lot, they said, ‘Okay, they said they hired you for the role.”
Nice.
That was it. It was a five-minute audition, and David hates me to this day.
I bet he does. One of the things I love about Bud throughout the 10 seasons was his character arc-that he went from an Ensign, met Harriet Sims, got married, lost his leg. I mean, you had such a character on. It made me cry towards the end to see him go, but to see him again in NCIS. How did you feel about the growth of Bud throughout the 10 years you were on JAG?
I was amazed at what they were able to give us, especially with the tragic storyline of him losing his leg. But again, what was great about that is we’re telling stories. The whole idea of JAG was we solve crime and we have drama, but we really wanted to honor the service people that serve our country because they’re doing an amazing thing and we wanted to tell their stories. One of their stories is when you give more than anyone else has given right? I guess that’s not Bud, but he gave a lot.
So as far as my arc, one of the great things again about being a side character is the two leads-they can’t change that much, right? It took them 10 years to finally admit they were together. But with Bud, because he’s not the guy that you’re tuning in for every week, he can change. So, as you’re saying, he went from LTJG all the way up to Captain at NCIS, and then lost his leg, got married, had babies, lost a baby, all of these things. So, I was able to play a much greater range of stories than Harm. Not that there’s anything wrong with harm, but as the hero, he’s got to stay kind of similar, so that when you tune in, “oh, that’s the guy I remember.” I had a great opportunity because of the storylines.
I love JAG because, and I loved you because of it. It’s crazy to believe that I’m looking at this picture, (points to a picture of one of his earlier roles) 40 years of Summer School. A few conventions ago, I got to talk to Richard about his experience. Tell me about your experience and coming up on the 40th anniversary come 2027.
Well, first, at this point, we should know more English than we do. 40 years of Summer School. Again, what was great about that is I made a movie called Prince of Bel Air with Mark Harmon, Kirstie Alley and Dean Cameron.
Wow!
We were all in this movie, this TV movie, where I played Mark Harmon’s ward. I was learning how to clean pools with him. He falls in love with my cousin, played by Kirstie Alley, and one of the guys that worked for him was Dean Cameron. So, it’s like we were all in this movie. When Mark got Summer School, he called Dean and I in, and he brought Kirstie in. I originally auditioned for Larry Kazamias, the dancer.
And I did my reading, and then they had me dance, and they said, “Congratulations, you’re the football player” because I can’t dance. So that was my experience getting that job. But the actual experience of making the movie-I mean, we were working with Carl Reiner, so it was-it was amazing experience.
I had a chance to interview his son Rob Reiner many years ago.
Oh wow!
And he was a wonderful talent, but I was so crazy nervous. Like, “oh my God! This is Stand by Me, When Harry met Sally. This is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, and I got asked some questions. Keep it cool, Dean. Keep it cool, Dean.”
What’s so funny because when we were rehearsing for Summer School, and this is the thing about Carl Reiner, he’s so down to earth that when he was talking. It felt like I didn’t know who he was talking about. He goes, “Oh, everyone, my boy Robbie has a movie. You should go see it. It’s called Stand by Me, and it’s really good. And I’m like, “Robbie, oh, Rob Reiner. Of course, that’s his son.” And then years later, I got a chance to meet Rob Reiner when I auditioned for him. I auditioned for oh, it was a political movie with Woody Harrelson. Anyways, I got to read for Rob.
Now, of course, JAG is A Few Good Men. I mean mixed with Top Gun. That’s literally the pitch. And so, I told him that we were talking, and you know the fact that I got to work with his dad, and I got to meet him, and I had him had to thank him for you know A Few Good Men because not for a few good men there’d be no JAG, and then I would have never gotten married and never would have had a kid, so it was cool.
Now we have got to talk about your wonderful podcast, which I’m a big fan of, and you have amazing stories. You talk to amazing guests. Tell us what you told me earlier. What’s the secret of doing a great interview?
Oh, you got to be interested in the people you’re talking to. Because if you’re not interested, why would anyone want to listen to the show that you know you’re deciding to put out there? So if anyone’s out there wanting to do a podcast, don’t think about the end result. Think about something that you’re really interested in.
I guarantee you, that there will be other people out there that are interested in that same thing. Doesn’t matter how weird it is. Like sewing patches onto leather jackets has an audience out there if you’re really interested in it. And so, that’s my secret. In as much as I like to interview people that I’ve worked with, I like to talk about what our experiences are in a way that allows people to understand that it’s just a job like any other, except it’s viewed as something different because of the way that it’s distributed.
Thank you Patrick for JAG and a great interview!
If you want to follow Patrick and hear his podcast “”The Patrick LabyorSheaux with Patrick Labyorteaux” or take a course in his Working Actors School, go to
- YouTube – The Patrick LabyorSheaux – YouTube
- Apple Podcasts – The Patrick LabyorSheaux with Patrick Labyorteaux – Podcast – Apple Podcasts
- Spotify – The Patrick LabyorSheaux with Patrick Labyorteaux | Podcast on Spotify
- Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/patrick.labyorteaux/
- Twitter – @p_labyorteaux
- Working Actors School – WorkingActorsSchool.com
About The Author
