Call him a one-hit wonder. He doesn’t mind.
But what a hit it was.
As he greeted curious visitors during the recent Mob-Con 2014 at Palace Station, the 63-year-old Redsull looked to be in the picture of health. The photos he autographed for fans at the mobster convention told another story entirely.
7 comments:
Ha! the best part of the article was that Redsull's response was so very that of a union stagehand: "That's not my job, you'd better get the director to come and ask me." It is cool that occasionally behind the scenes people do get a chance at in front of the camera action. This moment reminds me of how Harrison ford got his career in film. He was a set carpenter working in the studio where the original star wars was shooting. Lucas saw him and asked him to stand in and read for a scene, and he stuck around acting.
Well this puts a whole new meaning to the words "being at the right place at the right time". It's surprising what funny small roles people get by just showing up to work. People even get really lucky and might get the lead. This world is filled with possibilities and you need to go out there and reach for your dreams because something magical might happen. Yeah, you might be filling in for a dead corpse, but it's better than no screen time. It adds to your resume and you get recognized by others working in the business. Making connections and taking risks seems to be what it's all about. Well, not always, but a lot of it comes off that way. I always think it's first "who you know" and then it's "what you know".
This guy was really smart to get the rights to the pictures of him in character- that's something I wouldn't even have thought of (and then would have definitely been frustrating later on). It's pretty cool that he's signing autographs at conventions now; it's crazy how people can love a movie so much that they'd line up to get an autograph of someone who was pulled out of being a stage hand for literally 15 minutes of fame. I wonder how much time he spends doing stuff like that- I don't know much about conventions but I know they can take up some serious time (although I'm sure there aren't many mob-related film and TV conventions, so while he may go to some it's probably infrequent). Regardless, this is a really fun story and definitely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He's certainly never going to be stumped when someone asks him to share a fun fact about himself!
Redsull seems like a pretty cool, and lucky guy. I really like how he shot the scene and got his face in a major hollywood movie, and then went back to what he was doing, basically the same person. He also seems like a guy who has a pretty great sense of humor. Insisting that the director ask him was funny, and he now has a great anecdote. I mean, how many other people can say that Scorsese personally asked them to act in a scene. I'm not sure how many people would believe him, so it's a good thing that he got the rights to the image of him. In response to Chris' comment above, I had no idea that's how Harrison Ford started out. That's a cool origin story.
Redsull seems like a pretty cool, and lucky guy. I really like how he shot the scene and got his face in a major hollywood movie, and then went back to what he was doing, basically the same person. He also seems like a guy who has a pretty great sense of humor. Insisting that the director ask him was funny, and he now has a great anecdote. I mean, how many other people can say that Scorsese personally asked them to act in a scene. I'm not sure how many people would believe him, so it's a good thing that he got the rights to the image of him. In response to Chris' comment above, I had no idea that's how Harrison Ford started out. That's a cool origin story.
Talk about being in the right place at the right time. I can understand why he thought Richardson was joking when he asked. Why on earth would they want some random stagehand to play a minor, but apparently important, part in a big name production. That he made Scorsese come ask him personally is hilarious. I can't imagine being in Redsull's shoes when Martin Scorsese walked up to him and told him he was serious. What an experience. Getting the rights to the picture of him was a really smart move and I can imagine that it helped convince skeptical friends and relatives that it really was him. The best part is that he just went back to work like it wasn't a big deal once the shoot ended. How typical of a union stagehand.
Isn’t that what most people want, just that one moment to shine on the stage or the big screen? In movie history some cases happen by accident. Sure this guy played a dead man, nut how many of us always wanted to be an extra for a film, just to say that we were there. Growing up, I remember wanting to meet famous actors, or just famous people in general. But you know, the backstage life isn’t all that bad either. I think if I were in the same situation that guy was in, having been working behind the scenes for as long as he had, I might be a little skeptical to think that a joke was being played. I guess it’s just small instances like this that one doesn’t expect to be chosen to fill in for a role as easy as it is. The technician was there to do his job, and it’s nice to see he was compensated for it, so there’s a plus.
Post a Comment