The line-up at the casting call for Night at the Museum 3.

(GLYNN BROTHEN / iNFOnews.ca)

KAMLOOPS – We all secretly dream of being movie stars.

Maybe not even a star but being in a movie is pretty cool, too. What’s not to love about the big screen? There are costumes, celebrities and you get to pretend to be someone else.

The road to fame and fortune starts with one step and it’s a big one. The audition can make or break your chances. Plenty of hopefuls in Kamloops gave it their best shot Friday night.

Andrea Brown is a casting director with BCF Casting in Vancouver. She's looking for extras for Night at the Museum 3. Her audition isn’t very scary. She talks fast and takes one or two pictures. She wants to make sure her extras have the right look. She needs men with an Egyptian look.

Andrea’s process is amazing. In a matter of seconds, she had the name, the face, and the bare bones life story of each applicant. With a smile on her face she inspects her potential actors, asks them her questions. She breezily comments on their appearance.

“Nice beard!”

“Great face”

“Let me see your tattoo,” she says to one man. She assures him his costume will probably cover it up. He’ll still get the part.

It’s likely everyone will.

Within an hour, Andrea has met men with careers ranging from firefighting and plumbing, to pesticide application and culinary arts. Some want to moonlight as actors while others would quit their jobs to become actors.

One of the lucky hopefuls is Sam Brusly Johndevadose, a chef at the Coast Kamloops Hotel. He saw the casting advertisement in the newspaper and figured he’d give it a shot.

Andrea told him he’d be perfect.

“I’m so excited,” he said.

If it turns into a bigger gig, Johndevadose says he wouldn’t mind a career in acting. 

The stereotype which most have gleaned (from movies of course) is casting directors can be dismissive if they don’t find what they want.

With Andrea it was opposite. In seconds she was having full-on conversations with her extras. Some told her their life stories a moment after they met.

One man told her he's a proud single father; raising his daughter alone since she was a baby. She’s 25 now.

Another said finances were tough; he's a retiree.

The pesticide applicator casually relayed that he “doesn’t always” wear his protective gear, after Andrea asked if he was safe.

“Wear it!” Andrea scolds. “It’s very dangerous.”

When asked about the snooty casting director sterotype, Andrea smiles and shares the same excitement as her future extras.

“Some (directors) are like that, but not me,” Andrea said.

“After all, it’s a movie!”

To contact a reporter for this story, email gbrothen@infotelnews.ca, or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

News from © iNFOnews, 2014