STRICTLY ON BACKGROUND, PT. 49: ODDS & ENDS

If I were one of those background actors who join imdb.com just to list the productions they've worked on, I'd have close to 300 credits.

But out of that allegedly impressive number, some appearances have been so fleeting as to be near-invisible. Here are a few more examples of those ephemeral moments.

THE OTHER TWO: August 2, 2017, Columbus Circle. I had to go back almost six years to dig up this one, the pilot episode of a series I wasn't even aware had made it to air until they started filming again recently. The scene was a dance routine for a tour bus that had stopped at Columbus Circle. 

While some extras were on the tour bus, the rest of us were walking around the Christopher Columbus statue. The guy I had been placed with pointed at the dancers, which was the opposite of the instructions given. Maybe that's why the only time you see us is when we're almost off-screen. Thanks, guy!

I'm on the upper left in the Panama hat and tropical shirt. That I'm even posting it here is virtually a definition of "pathetic".

KALEIDESCOPE: October 31 & November 7, 2021, West 47th Street off 5th Avenue. Sometimes I have early call-times. This job took the cake, seeing that I had to get to holding both days at 4:30 a.m. At the time, the series was titled Jigsaw. We were told a criminal gang was going to set off smoke bombs to distract our characters as jewelry stores were robbed. The only actor I recognized was Giancarlo Esposito as the gang's ringleader. Since I was a fan of his from Better Call Saul, this was extra cool.

We were all given printed instructions to follow in order to get us into character (or as much character as a pedestrian can have). This was mine:

First date? Did they not see my wedding ring, or that I wasn't dressed for the occasion?

Kaleidoscope finally started streaming on Netflix over a year later. Because we
filmed both Sundays from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., I figured -- make that hoped -- I'd be seen head-on. It was an empty hope. Only at the end of this episode, rewinding to my scene, did I catch a glimpse of the old guy walking past the subway entrance as he returned from an amazing first date. My face isn't seen, but I'd know that jacket anywhere. This, then, can be considered the second definition of pathetic.

LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME: July 27, 2022, 380 Canal Street. My role was "Club Patron". We were working at The Palace -- to quote its website, "a nightlife hotspot located on a storied corner at the cusp of SoHo and TriBeCa". In other words, a joint that would never have me as a patron under ordinary conditions.  

The women were in their 20s, while most of us guys were over 50, giving us a sugar-daddy vibe. If only these women knew the sugar I could provide was Domino. When I was placed on set, I had become the club manager, which didn't change my pay scale one cent. I'm on the rear left leaning against the bar. This isn't quite as pathetic as the previous two appearances, but it comes pretty close.

MUSIC FOR A SUSHI RESTAURANT: September 18 & 19, 615 DeKalb Avenue, Brooklyn. My first (and so far only) appearance in a music video. We weren't told at booking time who the artist was. The P.A.s met us outside, where our phones were placed in Yondr pouches, which couldn't be opened unless we stepped outside and placed them in a magnetic device. All this secrecy was due to the pop star in question: Harry Styles. This was at the moment he was the hottest celebrity in the world, enjoying big sales with his latest album, awaiting the release of two movies, and appearing on every talk show and magazine cover. 

There weren't a lot of extras, and the director personally chose us from the photos submitted, making it extra special. As I calmly sat eight feet away from Harry Styles for four hours, it wasn't lost on me that there were millions of girls out there who would faint at such a chance. That's why I was there and they weren't. 

Despite the amount of footage filmed, you don't see much of us (it's a Harry Styles video, duh). But starting at 2:19, I can be seen (barely) on the far right wearing my good-luck fedora, sitting in the semi-darkness while my "date" is in the light. I'm more visible if you watch it on YouTube. 

The next day we did pick-up shots for about 20 minutes, without Harry present.  I'm not easily seen in the final product, but I was the envy of my daughter's friends. 

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