Not Obsessed, Just Well Informed - Julia Roberts loves me: An evening as a seatfiller

By Maura Reilly Feb 13, 2006, 13:41 GMT

On the evening of January 9th I was allowed to be a seat-filler for the 2005 Critic’s Choice Awards. 

For those of you not familiar with what a seat-filler does when a show is filmed with a live audience they employ volunteers to occupy seats temporarily vacated by performers or presenters so that the audience looks full on camera. It’s an excuse for the little people to dress up and mingle with the celebs and is entirely too much fun.  The Super Bowl of seat-filling events is The Oscars.  It’s nearly impossible to get that coveted position.  The same group of folks has been doing it for years.  Basically someone has to die before a new person can get a chance.  “But my grandfather was a seat-filler.  I’m a legacy!  You’ve got to let me in!”

My friend and I began the evening keeping William H. Macy and Felicity Huffman’s seats warm.  Next to us were the very lovely and gracious co-star of Transamerica Kevin Zegers and his equally as lovely girlfriend Marisa Coughlan.  Oh I should mention that as a seat-filler we can’t eat or drink anything from the tables.  (Hey, most of those starlets don’t eat anything anyway.  It would be a crime to let those goodies do to waste.)  A couple of times the waiter tried to ply us with some wine.  We sadly had to decline saying it was against the rules.  He explained that rules aren’t for ones such as us.  We are governed by the all-encompassing Hollywood rule of: Cleavage can get you anything in this town.

George Clooney, the evening’s recipient for the “Freedom Award” for his work on the amazing Good Night. And Good Luck had many girlfriends among the seat-fillers, each vying to for the much desired seat next to him.  I figured I’d be the one who got to fill that coveted spot, seeing how my love for the Clooney wasn’t as strong as the others.  And I’d be sitting there feeling the slings and arrows from my fellow seat-fillers including the potent ones shot at me from my adorable friend who was there with me.  Luckily for me, it didn’t work out that way.

What I find fascinating is how the hosting network uses these award shows to parade their “hot, young talent” to a national, even international audience that would most likely never see the shows the actors are from.  In the case of the Critic’s Choice Awards (aired on the now defunct WB) current teen-heartthrobs Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles from the series “Supernatural” presented awards for music, looking like two uncomfortable high school boys at their interviews for college admissions.  And Chad Michael Murray from the nighttime soap “One Tree Hill” presented with the radiant Rachel Weisz, who more than likely had no idea who this young buck was at her side.  As they say on Sesame Street: “One of these things is not like the other.”

But back to Julia and me…  I was seat-filling for Rent’s Wilson Jermaine Heredia as he and his fellow cast mates presented the award for Best Picture Made for Television.  Diagonally across from our table was the lovely Ms Roberts, sitting between her husband and the lovely George Clooney.  Suddenly I look up and Julia is smiling at me.  At least it looks like she is smiling at me.  She starts mouthing “hello!” and not to appear rude but confused to no end I mouth back “hello?”  Clearly she’s not talking to me.  I fought the urge to look around me to see who it was that she was really talking to because I didn’t want to appear rude. 

So I sat there, deer in the headlights, staring at Erin Brockovich.  Then she said: “You look beautiful.”  Clearly this is an example of the cleavage rule at work.  But still I had a feeling she wasn’t talking to me.  I have a familiar face and am often told I remind people of their college roommate or their cousin from Portland.  I don’t think that was the case here.  Finally she said “I love you!” and I KNEW she wasn’t talking to me.  Helplessly I said “I love you too?”  She leaned back to get her husband’s attention, pointing in my direction.  I took that opportunity to look away and prevent any further embarrassment.  At the commercial break Catherine Keener came from her seat behind me to Julia’s side and I knew then who it was she was really talking to. 

My friend who was sitting watching the exchange later asked me “Why were you talking to Julia Roberts?”  “I wasn’t! She started it!”