However, I am compelled to provide a bit of perspective here. First, I have all of two (count 'em, two) lines in this scene -- the rest of the time I am sitting quietly in Bale and Wahlberg's company in a scene representing a press conference prior to Ward's fight with the boxer Shay Neary, which took place in London over ten years ago. The role is listed on the IMDB (that's the Internet Movie DataBase, for those of you unfamiliar with the acronym) as the WBU (World Boxing Union) Commissioner; the part is so small that the two lines I utter on-screen were not even written out as dialogue in the script -- in fact, it appears only as one line in a parenthetical reference in a stage direction on one page of the shooting script. I had to look really hard for it when I was sent the script pages prior to the audition:
120 CONTINUED:
The Fighter 7/13/09 YELLOW DRAFT 94. 120
Dicky whispers into Micky's ear...Micky smiles, puts his arm * around his brother. Sal LoNano standing behind the scale, hear a commissioner shout, "Neary,-- 9 stone, 13 pounds!" Photographers snapping shots, reporters shouting questions, "Hey, Micky, what about you?"
MICKY Nah, I ain't gonna sleep on no
floor. I like my bed an' my girlfriend too much -
He waves at Charlene in the crowd. Reporters laugh. Neary glares at Micky and steps off the scale. Micky sees Alice squeezed way in the back of the room with George, both all dressed up, new clothes, hair done up.
MICKY (shouts out)
Hey, Ma, Dad, come on up here!
Alice and George start heading toward the front of the room, Alice looking at all the cameras, smiling, she's back in the spotlight. She's the belle of the ball.
In fact, I'll bet you won't be able to find it without reading through the above at least twice. Go ahead -- take a good hard look; I'll wait. . . .
(Bland "on-hold" music plays quietly in the background)
Did you find it? See? I can't really imagine how much more insignificant a role can be. I was given the second line while we were shooting the scene, since the director, David O. Russell (he of I (Heart) Huckabees, Three Kings, and others) -- who, when he referred to me at all during the course of our brief association, called me "that guy" -- felt that, if the character was going to announce the weight of one fighter, he might as well announce the weight of both. I trust you can appreciate how really minor this is, in the grand scheme of things. Because I was hired as a principal (since a line, no matter how small or parenthetical, is a line, and the Union -- God bless the Union! -- is very strict about categories and pay scales), I was paid a reasonably decent amount of money for the 8 hours I spent on set; I had my own little room in a large trailer on location, PA's (production assistants) brought me bottles of water and kept me apprised of what was going on, and I was shuttled to and from the actual shooting set in a van driven by large, friendly members of the Teamsters' Union local. I got a haircut from the hair and makeup people, and the wardrobe supervisor (a lovely and harassed man who probably wasn't paid nearly enough for all the things he had to do) was very patient as he sorted through the wardrobe I brought with me to select just the perfect outfit. In addition, I was fed really well (all film sets are catered, as you can appreciate the chaos that would ensue if the hundreds of technicians, wardrobe folks, actors and extras employed on the film had to go off to find their own meal for lunch or dinner) and had a lovely chat over dinner with my colleague and friend Dale Place (who plays referee Mickey Vann), several lighting techs and the actor playing the boxer Shay Neary (Anthony Molinari, an engaging and talented young man who, as it turns out, was born and raised in Worcester MA).
All in all, you can understand that my participation in this project was a whole lot less than even marginal. Many of my colleagues had roles much larger and more significant than mine, but none of them, alas, ended up in either the trailer or publicity photos. The lesson here, I suppose, is that the best and most visible kind of really small role to land in a major motion picture is one that puts you in constant proximity to one or more of the film's stars. So, I have been getting phone calls and e-mails from folks who have seen the film, and people I know here in my little town and at my gym have been coming up to me eagerly shouting "I saw you in the movies!" It's very fun and exciting, I have to say; and even though I have been trying to impart to all these good people how tiny it all is, I will admit that my ego has been feeding quite well these past few weeks on all the fuss.
One more observation -- as I pointed out, I spent the better part of eight hours sitting right next to Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, not saying a thing. I was able to watch these two extraordinary young men do their work from up close, and it was a revelation. They are awfully good at what they do; dedicated and focused and determined to deliver superior work in every moment. On top of it all, Mark Wahlberg is a class act in my book -- at the end of the shoot he took the time to thank all the people who had participated in that day's work. He had spent many years trying to get this picture made, and it is clear to me that this was not one of those movies pasted together by agents and studios almost as if by committee, and scripted almost as an afterthought; with the only goal to make as much money as possible. Mickey Ward and Dickey Eklund's story was one he was passionate about telling, and that, I will contend, is what Art is all about.
