Chattahoochee

Belk was very cool about me going to auditions. All I had to say was I worked at Belk, and it was free publicity. I was walking through the mall one day, and a guy stopped me and asked me if I wanted to be in a movie. Normally, I would be hesitant, but I said yes, and told him I had done that sort of thing before. That was the audition. I was cast as Looney #4 in "Chattahoochee". The film starred Gary Oldman, Dennis Hopper, Ned Beatty, Frances McDormand, and Pamela Reed. It took place in a mental hospital in the 1950's and was based on a true story. I was in 10 scenes. My two biggest scenes were cut out, after a target audience said the film was too long, but I guess they are out there somewhere. My picture is on the DVD box twice though. Anyway, the film was shot in November, but it was supposed to be in Florida in the summer, so we did a lot of freezing. They gave us blankets between takes. We were told by the director not to speak to Gary. He was a rising star, having come off "Sid and Nancy", and didn't want to be bothered by us. I had a scene with him that took 2 days to shoot. After the first day, he turned to me and asked my name. I told him. He then asked me why no one talked to him. I told him. Well, we ended up talking a lot, despite the director not liking it. Gary wanted to know about the South and its people, which would help him with his character. After all, he was born in London and had a thick cockney accent. I found Gary to be one of the best actors I had ever worked with. Another day, I was standing next to Dennis Hopper, waiting for a scene to start. He asked me to tell him about Charleston. He had wanted to go there, and wanted to know what sites to take in. I told him about Patriots Point, the market, the Battery, and other points of interest. Two years later, he directed a film called "Chasers". I wasn't in it, but all of the places I told him about were. I guess I should have gotten a location credit. M. Emmet Walsh was also on the film. He is a character actor who has been in hundreds of movies. A group of us would sit with him in the afternoons and tell jokes. Most were pretty dirty, but it helped pass the time. We had a fun time on that movie. If you ever get to watch it, please do. It has a good story and message.