Despite the cliche about no small parts, only small actors, there are bits with just one scene, maybe a line or two. Actors might be seen but not heard, bodies moving through a street, or in a party, to lend plausibility.
Hollywood calls them extras, or background actors. It's unlikely anyone could make a living as an extra: pay is minimal, and the hours long. But it could be a step toward foreground.
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Joey Lay, a Tuscaloosa actor, director and designer who has performed on numerous stages and platforms, co-creating The Actor's Charitable Theatre in 2008, is still working locally in theater and film projects, but he has also been traveling to land background work, with the hope those bits will lead to something bigger.
One fine step up can be seen in "Saturday Night," the much-touted Sony Pictures film about the ground-shifting inaugural performance of NBC's "Saturday Night Live," opening wide Oct. 11.
Lay is featured in trailers — at 25 seconds in to the not-suitable-for-work 2:18 preview, he's walking right to left across the 30 Rock set; in the slightly-fewer expletives 2:22 trailer, at one minute in, he fumbles a handful of cards for the Weekend Update set ― and has at least one line that survived editing. He'll be seen throughout playing Al Siegel, the cue-card guy.
Closer to home, you can see Lay on stage in a role he also played a decade ago, Uncle Fester in "The Addams Family," the musical comedy being performed by Theatre Tuscaloosa. For the October 2014 The ACT production, the multi-hyphenate Lay not only played Fester, but directed the show, and designed sets, costumes and makeup.
He's recreating the Fester look, and corralling props for Oct. 17-20 production in the Bama Theatre, 600 Greensboro Ave. For tickets, see www.theatretusc.com/addams.
Those multiple skills haven't hurt in film, though on "Saturday Night," everyone went through hair and makeup every morning, to keep mid-'70s coifs true to era.
"They cut, shaved and made us up for continuity," Lay said.
Though theater has been his home for decades, he's always wanted to do film. Tuscaloosa isn't exactly a movie hotbed, so he's been traveling, scouring agencies for casting calls.
"You send your measurements, pictures ― full body and a headshot ― and a phone number. And if they want you, they reach out," he said.
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Landing starring roles remains the dream, but background work is more accessible. His first imdb.com credit is 2023 film "The Shift," shot in Birmingham, starring Neal McDonough and Sean Astin.
"The first day of shooting, I didn't know who was in the movie, I'm sitting by the door in this restaurant. The door opens and (McDonough) walks through," he said.
If that name isn't recognizable, his face is: striking light-blue eyes offset by blond hair. McDonough has played tough ― often villainous -- guys in "Minority Report," "Justified," "Band of Brothers," "American Horror Story" and others. He ran a multi-show arc as DC villain Damien Dark, over "The Flash," "Arrow" and "Legends of Tomorrow," and a multi-film and video-game run as World War II soldier Dum-Dum Dugan, beginning with "Captain America: The First Avenger."
"So Neal McDonough's having a conversation with me, and after they said 'Cut,' I said, 'Look, I'm sorry. I did not expect you to be the one who walked through the door right now. You've got to forgive me,' " he said, laughing.
He also met Astin, a star since 1985's "The Goonies," growing up on film through "The War of the Roses" and "Memphis Belle," scoring as the Notre Dame underdog in "Rudy," and reaching another career pinnacle as Samwise Gamgee in the "Lord of the Rings" epic trilogy.
Getting the star treatment
Lay made a strategic connection with Birmingham-based extras casting director Michael Wyrosdick, who's helped him find places to apply. Last summer, Lay landed extra work in 16 films, including a Tyler Perry movie.
Charting a course not dissimilar to what Lay's trying, Ricky Gervais wrote and starred in a 2005-2007 comedy called "Extras." It's about a struggling actor doing background, while urging stars — guests playing outrageous versions of themselves, including Ben Stiller, Kate Winslet, Patrick Stewart, Robert De Niro, Diana Rigg, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Daniel Radcliffe, Samuel L. Jackson and David Bowie — for a line, a handhold, a step up. Gervais' Andy Millman pushes a script he has written: His script evolves into a dumbed-down version of "The Office," which leads to Millman becoming a star, of sorts.
"I'm there because I'm trying to move up the ladder," Lay said. "But I don't bother people because they're at work. You know, I don't go up and go 'Oh, you're so cool!'
"There are people who do it: 'Oh, can I get a picture?' That's the way to get blacklisted, to get booted off a set."
As an extra, Lay often gets McDonough-style surprises, because productions keep information close. Cast and crew may be required to sign non-disclosure agreements, which prohibit them from talking about projects.
"There's a couple of popular ones I've done background work on that I literally can't say anything about," Lay said.
He can say he's been on set with Kurt Russell, Matthew McConaughey, Perry and other stars, and shot work in Mississippi on a film with Christopher Lloyd, though Doc from "Back to the Future" wasn't on set the same day.
While sitting across a table from Russell, Lay bit back the urge to schmooze.
"My motto is no, they don't want to talk about acting," he said. "So we started talking about his winery. He was just a cool guy. He's not always on; he's got a life outside of Hollywood."
Landing 'Saturday Night' role
A wild mustache and sideburns he'd grown for another possible role helped score the "Saturday Night" part. A casting person contacted him: "Hey, don't cut your hair. I'm submitting you to the director."
"Two weeks after that I got an email," Lay said. The casting director told him "Jason just really liked your look, and wanted you to have a featured bit.' "
"Saturday Night" was directed by Jason Reitman ("Ghostbusters: Afterlife," "Tully," "Juno," "Up in the Air"), son of Ivan Reitman ("Meatballs," "Stripes," "Ghostbusters," "Kindergarten Cop"). Lay was invited to a meet-and-greet with the director-producer, after which Reitman met with cast one-on-one, preferring a hands-on approach even with the cue-card guy who may only be heard speaking once.
"Some people came out like they'd seen a ghost," Lay said, laughing. "We talked probably five minutes. He's one of the nicest guys I've ever met."
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True to the first "SNL," airing with a string of unknown 20-somethings, the now-familiar stars are mostly played by younger, less-known actors. But luminaries Willem Dafoe, Robert Wuhl, Tracy Letts, J.K. Simmons (as Milton Berle), Matthew Rhys (as George Carlin) and Jon Batiste (as Billy Preston) also shine. Nicholas Braun from "Succession" plays both Jim Henson and Andy Kaufman.
Al Siegel the cue-card guy may not be on screen as often as the John Belushi (Matt Wood), Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith), Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt) or Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) actors, but Lay still needed to be there, often. He was originally given a calendar for nine days' work, but that jumped to 18, and later became something more like 26.
"So at that point, I found somewhere to stay for six weeks in Atlanta," Lay said.
Though he can't give away much, after watching the chaotic behind-the-scenes unfold, Lay can say "It's amazing that (the first 'SNL') even made it to the air."
On the whole, the "Saturday Night" work was one of his most positive experiences, with everyone from Reitman down to the guy who trained him on cue cards treating all with care and respect. Having a part that grew from background to a speaking role was a gift, one he knows may not always happen.
Lay is seeking an agent, having built up a decent demo reel, and aside from Atlanta ― which has this century become a major movie player, a Hollywood Southeast ― he's willing to travel to Los Angeles or wherever.
"But I'm not applying for as much background anymore, because I don't wanna get stuck there," he said.
"The hardest part is you don't get any feedback when you submit an audition. You either get picked or not," he said. Of about 200 submissions within the last year, he's heard from four.
"But if you ask any actor, they'll say they booked 2% of what they apply for," Lay said. "It's like taking a handful of snow and throwing it, and hoping some sticks."
Until he gets that agent, he knows the big auditions won't appear.
"They're not going to post million-dollar jobs on a website," Lay said.
"Something will happen eventually. Eventually, something will stick."
Reach Mark Hughes Cobb atmark.cobb@tuscaloosanews.com.
