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From performing in initiatives like Titanic, to working his method to being a doctor assistant to showing on — and profitable — a number of video games of Jeopardy!, Nick Cascone has skilled loads of distinctive issues in his life. And with a visit to his favourite recreation present’s most elite occasion looming, he’ll want all of the life data and expertise he can get.
Yahoo Leisure chatted with Cascone, a one-time Jeopardy! champ who was invited again for this season’s wildcard event the place he came out on top of a field of 27 and earned a coveted spot within the gameshow’s Match of Champions.
However there’s rather more to Cascone’s journey than a few recreation present wins, and he was comfortable to speak all about it.
A unique form of highlight
Cascone described his performing profession, which basically lasted 20 years from 1986 to 2006, like this:
“I had huge roles in small initiatives and small roles in huge initiatives. That’s the extent that I received to.”
However that’s to not say he did not do some cool stuff. After rising up a Star Trek fan, or “Trekkie” as he mentioned, Cascone seems to be again on his time engaged on Star Trek: The Subsequent Technology as a particular spotlight.
“Simply to get referred to as for an audition for that factor was superb,” Cascone mentioned. “After which to get booked and to be on the set of the Enterprise and meet Jonathan Frakes and Wil Wheaton and Patrick Stewart and put on the uniform. And simply to develop into a part of that lore, holy mackerel, that was a dream come true.”
In fact there was the movie Titanic as properly, which received 11 Academy Awards, together with Greatest Image, and have become the primary movie to achieve the billion-dollar mark because the highest-grossing movie of all time for 12 years.
Cascone performed Bobby Buell, one of many members of the search crew led by Invoice Paxton’s Brock Lovett.
“I auditioned personally for Jim Cameron, and I feel they booked me as a result of I had a bit of little bit of a distinct concept on that character than Jim himself had,” mentioned Cascone, who referred to as the entire expertise “tremendous thrilling,” regardless that no person fairly knew what it was going to develop into.
He additionally appeared in such movies as Nightwatch, Mr. Baseball, The Cell and Dragonfly, together with exhibits like Moonlighting, L.A. Legislation, Star Trek: Deep House 9, ER, The West Wing, Judging Amy, Charmed and With out a Hint.
Cascone mentioned that his profession had reached a pleasant level by 2006 the place he was getting referred to as to come back and do components with out having to audition, and he had initiatives lined up. However when the 9/11 assaults occurred the complete enterprise went darkish “for about two years.”
And when he emerged on the opposite facet his agent had retired and his new company folded, leaving him with out illustration and heading again towards sq. one. However that wasn’t one thing he was ready to do with a younger household, so he determined to return to high school to get a job within the medical discipline.
He did say that he misses and thinks about performing “about each 5 minutes,” and plans to return in a single capability or one other with retirement looming in his present profession.
However Cascone hasn’t talked a lot about his performing profession on Jeopardy!, one thing that might clearly make for some attention-grabbing banter with host Ken Jennings. And it was truly an expertise he had with visitor host Dr. Mehmet Ouncesback in 2021 that has given him pause in terms of broaching the topic once more.
“They knew about it and so he requested about my experiences on Titanic, after which I instantly misplaced,” Cascone mentioned. “So then I mentioned, ‘Hmm, perhaps I shouldn’t have talked about a catastrophe.’”
He additionally mentioned there was another stuff that he wished to speak about and that whereas being an actor was a enjoyable factor to do, he mentioned, “it’s not one thing I put on on my sleeve and speak rather a lot about.”
A Jeopardy! journey
Cascone mentioned that he used to look at Jeopardy! again when Artwork Flemming was the host and manned the rostrum from 1964 to 1979. Then when the present was revamped and returned within the mid-Eighties with Alex Trebek as host, he tried out round 1987. Ultimately, his audition course of was stopped as a result of he was in the midst of his performing profession.
He lastly received again round to making use of years later and received the decision in 2019. His debut was delayed, nonetheless, first because of the COVID-19 pandemic, after which due to Trebek’s passing.
So Cascone’s first day of capturing — with Katie Couric as visitor host — was on Jan. 6, 2021. And whereas the nation’s capital was being attacked, Cascone and the remainder of Jeopardy! have been sequestered and with out their telephones, all whereas filming ran practically 5 hours longer than anticipated.
He would win that recreation, which aired in March of 2021, and took dwelling $26,801 in winnings. He would lose his subsequent recreation, which was filmed per week or so later and hosted by Dr. Oz. He mentioned that loss got here all the way down to an ideal storm of not-very-good classes, robust opponents and being out of shape with the buzzer.
Cascone returned this season as a part of a wild card event. He received a quarterfinal recreation on Nov. 14, a semifinal recreation on Nov. 22 and back-to-back last video games Nov. 27 and 28 to take dwelling $100,000 in prize cash and reserve a spot within the Match of Champions later this season.
A Jeopardy! future
Given his love of and historical past with Jeopardy!, incomes his method into the ToC was a fairly large deal for Cascone, who mentioned he was nonetheless “form of surprised,” particularly due to how equal the competitors is.
“Actually, everybody in that inexperienced room may simply have made it to the place that I received to,” Cascone mentioned. “I imply, you gotta be fortunate, you gotta have classes that you recognize. After which, everyone there has principally the identical data. You already know, 80% of the questions everyone in that room is aware of. And there are simply only a few questions the place your data doesn’t overlap with actually everybody else’s. So when it comes to figuring out greater than the opposite folks, that’s a crapshoot.”
Cascone went on to say that the largest key to success is the timing of the buzzer. There are lights that come on after the clue is learn to point that buzzers are dwell, however should you buzz in too early you get locked out. So he mentioned it’s a fragile science, one which includes completely different approaches.
“This can be a huge controversy amongst contestants. Some persons are listening to the query and there’s a beat, and the buzzer is energetic, they usually don’t use the lights. I don’t suppose I may time it that method, I simply deal with the lights. It’s nearly like a drag race: as quickly as these lights come on, you hit the gasoline.”
As of final week, Cascone has no concept when they are going to be filming the ToC apart from will probably be a while in 2024. However till then, he’s received a plan:
“Research my ass off and look forward to a textual content,” Cascone mentioned. “Shore up the stuff I don’t know, simply hold my mind in it, and are available again with extra data than I left with.”
Jeopardy! airs weekdays, test your native listings.
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