Meet Oliver Grigsby, screenwriter for Heroes

By Nancy Mucciarone > Junior > Magazine Journalism > Syracuse University

Oliver Grigsby didn’t always have the superpowers he has now.  Just a few years ago, he was a fresh college grad making coffee runs for successful screenwriters, and waiting for his big break.  Now 27, Grigsby got his big break—writing for the hit TV series Heroes.  After writing a full episode and working on webisodes, he's about to become a permanent staff writer for the show.  Who knew a medium French vanilla latte could get you so far?

College Magazine: When did your interest in writing begin?
Oliver Grigsby:  In college.  I started out taking creative writing classes, but wasn’t necessarily heading in the screenwriter direction until I took some film classes.  Then I thought, “why don’t I mesh the two?”.  I ended up with an English major and a film minor. 

CM:  Did you ever have internships in college that helped you get to where you are today?
OG:  No, but I had a couple of different jobs during the summer where I basically just worked in TV or film production just as an assistant and just got coffee for everyone.  What really helped me in college was taking many different classes so I had a diverse education and knew many things to write about.

CM:  When did your big break come that allowed you to work for such a successful show?
OG:  When I graduated, I started as a production assistant on a TV show, and that’s where I started to make all my contacts.  Even though I was just getting people coffee, it gave me a chance to work with writers, so I could look at what they were writing and they could give me feedback on what I was writing.  I became the script coordinator for a show called Crossing Jordan, and when the writer started Heroes, he asked me to come over and be the script coordinator for that.

CM:  So how do you go from getting coffee to where you are now?
OG:  It’s hard work and a willingness to work.  My first tasks were menial tasks, but I took them seriously and showed the writers that I’m a dependable person.  So from time to time I would get other little writing assignments, and that’s your chance to show that you have a creative side.  And the opportunities just stack up.  I became the writer’s assistant and wrote the first draft for the episode, and then they offered me the chance to write a whole episode.  I wrote “Shades of Grey,” and I guess I did a good job because I’m about to become a permanent staff writer.

CM:  What is it like seeing your writing come to life on the screen?
OG:  It’s pretty incredible.  When we had to hold auditions for Sylar’s father, there were a lot of talented actors that came in, and that was sort of a moment for me.  I was like, “Wow they’re reading something I wrote!”  A similar moment happened when I watched my episode on TV with a group of my friends and I heard them gasp or laugh.  It’s like, “Oh, this actually has an affect on people!”

CM:  Do you get to be on set while the show is being filmed?
OG:  Usually the writer of the episode is on set, so I was on set last season when they were filming “Shades of Grey.”  You’re just there to adjust a line of dialogue or answer questions that the actors or the director has, or change things so they come more naturally to the actor.

CM:  How far in advance do you write episodes?
OG:  We start with a very big picture and we start planning the season several months before they start filming.  It’s a tricky process because you don’t want to plan things so specifically so it becomes an obvious story.  You want to leave yourself enough room so that when inspiration strikes, you can explore that avenue.

CM:  How long does it take to make one episode?
OG:  It depends on how you define make. The actually filming process is typically 10 days, and before that you have about 7 or 8 days of preproduction, and before that is about a months worth of planning and rewriting.

CM:  Is there ever drama on the set?
OG:  Always.  You sort of become this family, and like any family, you get in disagreements but you forgive each other the next day or the next minute.  I think 90 percent of the time, the disagreements are because everyone cares so passionately about the show and want things to be done in the best way possible.  That’s the creative process.

CM:  How do you come up with a character’s ability?
OG:  We try to come up with the character first and who they are, and then try to make the ability come out of what their personality or needs and wants are.  Nathan was the politician with lofty ambition, so he could fly.

CM:  Who is your favorite character?
OG:  Sylar.  He’s just so much fun and I think it’s partly because he can play all different personalities.  We’ve done some things where he takes on the role of an agent or a delivery guy and it’s fun getting to play with the different personalities.

CM:  Are you allowed to make the decision to kill a character?
OG:  The idea always starts in the writer’s room when we feel like the story has reached the point where it might be a good idea to kill a character or send him off into the sunset.  We have to run it by an NBC executive, because if they feel like a character is too important to lose and it might hurt their ratings, they might object.  But they ultimately know that telling the best story is going to keep the most fans interested, so generally they let us do what we want.

CM:  If you could have any character’s ability, whose would you choose?
OG:  Hiro’s freezing time ability.  I’m at the point in my life where I’m so busy, which is great, but I feel like there’s 100 things I want to be doing right now, so if I could freeze time for a little bit, that would be great.

CM:  What goes into making a webisode and how does it change the audience’s Heroes experience?
OG:  Webisodes are only about a minute and a half, so keeping it brief is a challenge.  This season, the webisodes are tying in directly to the main plot, so if you watch the episode that pairs with the webisode, it will be a much richer experience.  You’ll feel more invested in our characters and the webisodes will give you more of an insight and expand the universe. 

CM:  Would you like to stay in TV, or are there other projects like movies you want to explore?
OG:  I would really like to stay in TV at this point.  I started out being interested in feature films because at the time, it was more interesting to me and TV seemed so predictable.  As I got into TV, shows like Lost came on the air that told a much larger story and I find that really interesting.  A show like Heroes is perfect for me because we are telling so many different stories via TV, Internet, games, and so much more.  TV is changing with the Internet and streaming media, and I’m excited to be a part of that.

CM:  We understand that you just got married. Is it hard to balance spending time at home and working on such a successful show?
OG:  Absolutely.  One of the benefits of being a writer is that I can at least write at home, so even if I’m spending all night on my laptop, my wife and I can at least spend time together.

CM:  Do you have any advice for aspiring screenwriters?
OG:  Keep writing.  You can spend a lot of time waiting for your big break, and when it comes along, you want to make sure you have the best material available for someone who will read your script.  And when you get that first job, even if it’s getting coffee, be a good person so you can make contacts and show people that they wouldn’t mind working with you for so many hours a day.  Vary your experiences in college, and keep a notepad handy and write down funny or dramatic experiences, because you never know when it might be the perfect scene or line.  Always be an observer of life.

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