Chicago native goes up ‘The River’

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“A fair amount of cast members came up to me and said, ‘We really wish you weren’t being killed,’” says Barrington native Jeff Galfer of his castmates on ABC’s “The River.”

Updated: March 13, 2012 8:02AM

Jeff Galfer is pretty upbeat for a dead guy. His character became the first casualty on ABC’s Feb. 7 premiere of the paranormal TV show, “The River.”

“I knew I was going to die, but it didn’t matter to me because I was so excited to work on this level,” the Barrington native said.

Landing the role of Sammy, a cameramen documenting the search for a missing explorer, wasn’t easy. Galfer got into the audition room because he knew the pilot’s director, Jaume Collet-Serra, but the rest was a bumpy process. The creative team (Michael R. Perry and Oren Peli, creator of the “Paranormal Activity” series), wanted him for the role, but the networks wanted a familiar face, and so the “no” call came — and it came while he was in a car with his girlfriend and her parents, who he was meeting for the first time.

But Galfer’s fortune quickly changed. The next day — as he was about to enter a small claims courtroom over a scuffle with his mechanic —his manager told him he’d gotten the part, but he needed to be in Puerto Rico right away.

“I told my mechanic I forgave him, and that was the end of that,” Galfer said.

Galfer, 32, spent the next three and a half weeks filming the pilot. “The River” follows a ragtag crew searching for explorer Dr. Emmet Cole (Bruce Greenwood), who disappeared in the Amazon. Galfer played one of two cameramen who ended up recording not just a scenic trip down the river, but the work of a malevolent spirit. The show’s footage comes from handheld cameras and surveillance cameras, so most of Galfer’s face-time didn’t involve much of his face at all.

“They let us shoot a fair amount of it. I like to say my acting is great because it’s shot well,” he said. “There’s one scene I’m really proud of — when [actress] Eloise Mumford is hit with something, and blown back against the wall, I’m 99 percent sure I was the only one who shot that angle that day.”

Galfer even filmed his own death. Although he went into the show knowing his character wouldn’t make it past the first episode, it was still hard to leave.

“At the end of the three and a half weeks, I felt like I was a part of this show. A fair amount of cast members came up to me and said, ‘We really wish you weren’t being killed.’ I can’t be more grateful to have admired these people from afar, and have them say that to me.”

Galfer said the creators are being “very careful about bringing anyone back from the dead,” but since “The River” deals with the paranormal, resurrection isn’t completely out of the question.

Last October, he received “the best of birthday presents” when he was asked to come to Hawaii to film scenes for a flashback episode.

“No one forgot what a wonderful time we had making this pilot —the sound guy was coming up and giving me hugs. I don’t think I paid for a meal or a drink while I was there,” Galfer said.

He’s been told he’ll be a part of any scenes involving flashbacks, but in other regards, he’s had to move on with his life in L.A. However, he remains serious about helping “The River” succeed, even getting on Twitter for the cause.

Galfer’s one regret about “The River” is that his father, Michael, wasn’t able to see it. He passed away not long before the show’s audition process began.

But the two did share a Hollywood experience when they attended the movie premiere of “The Orphan,” directed by Collet-Serra.

“I was so happy to have that opportunity for him to come to a movie premiere with me,” Galfer said.

A lot of interest in Galfer’s casting on “The River” came when his name was linked with “soap star” in online headlines. Galfer appeared on several episodes of “All My Children” as Dr. Burke, a therapist who “broke every therapy rule” in treating the increasingly crazy Annie Lavery (Melissa Claire Egan).

“[My character] was completely shameless. I would just walk into a scene and give therapy to any character, in any situation. I would show up on people’s doorsteps.”

Now, Galfer is in the middle of the madness that is auditioning for TV pilot season. This time, he’s more optimistic about his chances.

“In L.A., it’s very hard to get an audition for anything of a certain caliber if you’re not a very well known actor. Now the networks, ABC at least, know who I am. I hope now it’s not, ‘who is Jeff Galfer?’ but ‘who..is...Jeff Galfer?’”

Galfer moved to L.A. three years ago, leaving behind New York when he decided his “heart and energy was not melding” with the city.

“Toward the end of my time in New York, I got very anxious, I had a bad bout of depression. I was in my mid-20s, I felt entitled to things, and I’m not sure why I felt entitled. I got really uncomfortable even leaving my apartment. I thought it would be easier to not be around rather than exist the way I had been existing.”

With encouragement from his parents, Galfer picked up a camera and began taking photos of a different New York neighborhood every weekend. It began as just a way to get out of his apartment, but he eventually turned photography into a side business he continues today.

As for his hometown, Galfer returns to Chicago about twice a year. A recent memorable visit was in 2010 when he came back for Barrington High School’s 60-year reunion show where alum performed songs from musicals they’d done in high school. Which left Galfer performing “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major General” from “Pirates of Penzance,” a very hard song that he hadn’t sung in 13 years.

“It was a terrifying experience,” he said, laughing.

When Galfer comes home, there’s one place he almost always stops — Buffalo Joe’s in Evanston, where his family moved after he was out of high school.

“They have the best Buffalo wings I’ve ever had in any city I’ve lived in,” he said.