Casey Sander ’79 has performed in more than 300 TV episodes, movies, and commercials over a 40-year acting career. Here are five of his favorites.
Sander played Bernadette Rostenkowski’s father, Mike, in several episodes of The Big Bang Theory, including “The Thanksgiving Decoupling” (2013).
“It’s a new show that is finding its legs. It’s a wonderful cast led by a very supportive Bradley Whitford. Bringing a Kentucky hog farmer to life has been a blast. With a new show, so many things can go wrong. What is the time slot? Are you up against football? I did a show called Tucker, with Katey Sagal as my wife. We were up against Monday Night Football, and we lasted three episodes. With Perfect Harmony, we’re waiting to see if more shows will get ordered.”
“The greatest group of veteran actors, and the nicest ladies. They were professionals who taught me that ‘the total show’ is what mattered more than the individual actors. It was a team effort to achieve success. As Cousin Sven, they made me a big part of their team. Their individual efforts to help this newcomer come up to their level for the show to shine taught me an invaluable lesson. Betty White is a national treasure.”
“No. 1 in the country. What a joy. Making music with tools and performing it in front of a 300-person live studio audience was exciting. I played the angle grinder and a 55-gallon drum. We received an unsolicited, thunderous standing ovation that was completely unexpected and unforgettable.”
“Another No. 1 show, and the best show I have ever worked on. Top to bottom, first class. The nicest, most professional actors and crew in the business. It was an environment that allows you to do your best work.”
“Playing a burned firefighter was my best dramatic work ever. The role was exhausting for so many reasons. It took two and a half hours every day to have all the burn makeup applied by special effects artists. Then there’s the challenge of playing someone who is rapidly losing the ability to breathe—knowing the entire time he was going to die. I was acting on my back, with my eyes, in a bed, with no movement. These were always 14-hour days.”
