Transcript

I can't have too much risk.

They are my livelihood.

They're how I pay the rent.

So what do you call it?

Do you call it a business, a craft, a profession?

It's really both.

It's numerous things.

It's not only business; it's art, I think.

It can

kind of get too far down,

and you start to see too much hair, and

clients usually don't like that type of stuff.

We take it for granted, you know.

You honestly sit down, and you watch television,

there are so many inserts of body parts

that you'd be astounded by

the abs,

the legs,

the hands,

the really great, amazing hands that are in this world.

My name is Erik Thomas Layne,

and I'm a professional hand model.

My first gig was a 7Up commercial,

where I was David Spade's hand double,

and I had a noon call time.

I get there; I'm on time.

I sit around the entire day.

I don't do a single thing,

and then they're like, Hey, David, you want another take?

No, no, no, I'm fine.

So we get down to sunset, right?

And then he's wrapped.

They're like, David, eh, great job, really good.

He leaves, and they're like, Alright, we gotta hurry.

Get the hand model in here right now,

'Cause we gotta get the heck out of here.

And I saved David Spade's butt.

Do you have anything in your hand model kit

that you'd want me to use?

Special for you or ...

No, I just have my lotion that I use in between takes

and stuff like that.

In the industry, we have terms to describe skin tone.

For example, there's linen,

for, you know, very, very pale-skinned people.

There's...

Mongolian wool.

That's for more like a, I would say

olive-skinned

tone.

Mine are peaches and cream.

What I like about my hands, and what other people like

about my hands is that they're very soft, you know.

They're almost

boy-next-door hands, you know?

You're not going to be afraid of these.

You know, these are very calming.

They're very, they have a calming sense to them.

Well, my hands are going to be

basically expressing joy.

It's going to be a celebratory moment.

They will pop up

and just do a little celebration.

I wake up in the morning.

I can't have too much caffeine.

If I have too much coffee,

my hands get a little hard to control.

I have to have a balanced meal, a little bit of carbs,

but not too much, to make me crash, I have to be awake.

I'm a little concerned about these rubber bands

that are on my costume, or wardrobe.

I think they're going to cut off circulation.

Consequently, I'll be a little bit more veiny.

I mean, you know, I'm just...

You know, it's their thing.

You know, if they want veins, hey.

You know, I'm staying out of it.

You know, I'm ready for whatever curve balls

are thrown at me.

Throw me a curveball.

Throw me a slider.

I will knock it.

I will get a single at the very least, okay?

But I will most likely get a home run.

Are you one of the actors?

Are we going to do a scene together?

I'm the hand model.

Oh.

I'm going to be doing, we're going to be bumping today.

There are certain moves that you have to do,

like a flip, you know.

A lot of times, they'll have you go, boom!

Right there, one.

[Interviewer] So you really have to stick it.

Yeah you have to stick it,

and it's all about the positioning.

He's not holding the phone

the way that you should hold a phone, I think.

Oh!

See, you've got to have, it's very specific.

You've got to have one finger pointing up, outward.

So it's kind of,

If you think about it, it's kind of like

these fingers are with it.

That one's pointing outward, kind of generic,

like, Hey, this is kind of cool.

The thumb's just very supportive.

That's interesting.

Yeah, it's art.

[Interviewer] So about today,

would you say this was challenging for you?

Challenging, yes,

but it was also rewarding,

because it was really about me,

and it was really about my hand,

and my hand kind of brought the whole world together,

which was really nice.

And it's nice to feel important, on a site, you know,

feel needed.

I'm going to put you in the trunk of the car.

I've cut a little hole in there.

Okay.

I will be able to breathe?

I mean, there'll be air?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, for a minute or two.

So you're up, back to the shot.

Okay, and so is all of that stuff

going to be on top of me?

Yeah, on top of you.

Oh.

Just between us, I don't...

[Interviewer] Explain to me what it is.

I'm gonna be in a trunk and...

I'm gonna be in a trunk.

If they need me,

They're going to have stuff on top of me,

and then I'm supposed to put my hand out and do the part,

which is gonna be really hard,

but that is where the magic happens,

is when stuff is really fucking tough.

And action!

Nail the bump.

Nail it!

And cut!

Can you breathe?

[Erik] Yeah, I have a little, there's a little slit.

Got another four minutes in you?

We need one more shot.

[Erik] Oh, yeah, yeah.

If you can bear with me, one more shot.

Totally, totally, no worries.

Okay, you wanna, here, just relax your hand.

Work it out, work it out, let me see.

Yeah, okay, here it is.

[Erik] How's it looking?

[Director] Looks great.

You're really great on-camera.

I command a lot of respect on set.

(somber piano music)

Now today, I had

an incident, a couple of incidents today.

[Crew Member] Yeah, we need a puppeteering monitor, too.

[Director] Yeah, we do, we need the puppeteering,

[Crew Member] Puppeteering monitor, right?

I was referred to as a puppeteer.

Are these, these are not puppets.

These are not,

These are not marionettes to,

You know, these are alive.

These are an extension of me and who I am.

These, you know,

These are

alive

and real, and a puppet is a fake thing.

Yeah, I don't really like

when people refer to me as a puppeteer.

[Director] That's a wrap!

(cheering)

Hey, all right!

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah, I think so.

Oh, thanks.

Yeah, all right!

[Crew Member] Great job.

I have to be focused and I have to be in my zone,

because perfection is demanded of me.

You know, as soon as they say, Bump, I have to nail that.

As soon as they say, Hand,

hand has to be there, so I have to focus.

You know, people can call me a loner.

They can say, Hey, he's not really,

He's kind of anti-social,

but at the end of the day, I'm here to get results,

and I have to focus and be in my zone for that.

[Upbeat Music]

I'm an artist, and ultimately,

I'm willing to sacrifice for art,

in order to get whatever we need to do

to make this thing work.

People degrade my hand modeling, but it takes

quite a bit of skill, and they don't realize that.

They are my friends.

At times, they can be my enemies,

because there's a little bit of upkeep,

but they,

They are always very loyal to me.