Actor Robert Iler Tells Pardon My Take How He Once Finessed His Way Out of Jury Duty
To send you into the weekend, Pardon My Take welcomed on actor Robert Iler to the show. The man who plays AJ Soprano joined Mr. Cat and Mr. Commenter to discuss his acting career, growing up on The Sopranos set, the funniest cast members, being a professional poker player, and a lot more. Another topic included Iler giving us the details of a total finesse earlier in his career. He was asked to be on Jury Duty, but had the perfect out. Here are the details:
Mr. Cat: I did see, though, in another relatable moment, that you have been in a couple of law and order episodes, and that was strictly to get out of jury duty. Is that true?
Robert Iler: Oh wow, you did your research, huh? Where'd you see that?
Mr. Cat: I have a long history with jury duty. I've been trying to get in and out of jury duty for like two years. So, when I saw that, I was like, "Fuck yes, this is awesome." Is that how it actually went? You got jury duty and you're like, "Hey Law and Order, I'm ready for my episode, so I don't have to do jury duty?"
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Robert Iler: That's exactly what happened. I got the phone call and they were like, "Hey, you have to come down to like, Center Street," and I had been on probation for three years. And going down just to that area and walking in those buildings would just like turn my stomach, because I just hate it so much. And they were like, yeah, come down to Center Street and do jury duty. So, I called my manager and I'm like, "Can you get me a job to get out of jury duty next week?" So he called me back. He's like, "Yeah, I have a job for you on Law and Order. If you do the episode of Law and Order, they'll send a letter that you're working and you can't make jury duty. I didn't even ask what I was doing in the show. I was like, OK.
Mr. Cat: So, what did you do in the show?
Robert Iler: Spoiler alert! I think I killed my sister's parents, or some shit like that.
Mr. Commenter: Wait, so you were the culprit, you were the guy.
Robert Iler: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Mr. Commenter: Just trying to get out of work, and you just showed up, and you're like, "OK, I guess I'm going to be the star of the show and be like a multiple murderer. Tell me where to stand and what knife to hold and I'm good.
Robert Iler: And I also have a horrible fear of like paperwork. And I just imagine that jury duty would have a bunch of paperwork. Like when I won the forty thousand dollars at the World Series of Poker, you get knocked out and then they send you into this room. And the person handed me like a four page thing to fill out. And it was part of me that was like I should just leave. All those, like, empty spaces and having to fill in all your information. I never know any of the fucking answers. Like, I'm just I'm clueless. Paperwork is the thing I hate the most.
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Mr. Cat: Oh, it definitely sucks, because I've had to do it. Jury Duty is not fun. I got out of it because I was just like, "Hey, I have an interview I have to do."
I think everyone agrees with Iler on the fact that paperwork absolutely SUCKS. Necessary from a legal standpoint? Sure. But let's be real, you look for the spots to sign, and sign away. Maybe you'll read some lines here and there, but there is simply too much to read for it all to be *that* important.