# When they don't use actors in a movie for authenticity **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 9, 2002, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-they-dont-use-actors-in-a-movie-for-authenticity/123066 "2002-08-09T01:25:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2002, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-they-dont-use-actors-in-a-movie-for-authenticity/123066/21 "2002-08-10T22:35:33Z")
This is quite ironic but Dr. Haing S. Ngor was murdered quite a few years ago in Los Angeles–a senseless mugging that went wrong. After surviving the tumultuous events in the movie, he succumbs to a street robbery. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2002, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-they-dont-use-actors-in-a-movie-for-authenticity/123066/22 "2002-08-11T12:06:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Laughing Lagomorph \* > \*\*Not a cinematic example, but I remember hearing that a lot of the gang members in Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” video were gang members. > \*\* Yes, they were. I do not envy the talent wrangler on that show. Lynn-Holly Johnson, the lead in [Ice Castles](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0077716), was a professional ice skater. Not lead roles, but Woody Allen often uses professionals in bit parts. In **Take the Money and Run** , the bank employees in the “I’m holding a gub on you” scene were real bank employees. In **Hannah and her Sisters** , the doctor who said, “Well, I guess the dark side of the spectrum is…brain tumor,” was Allen’s GP. ---
**Author:** ![Intaglio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/71e660/32.png) [@Intaglio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intaglio)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2002, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-they-dont-use-actors-in-a-movie-for-authenticity/123066/23 "2002-08-11T17:07:34Z")
In Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil The Grand Impress of Savannah, Lady Chablis, plays herelf in the film. She said in an interview that Diana Ross wanted to play her, and she said nobody can play the Doll, but the Doll. The author was impressed and liked her that he persuaded Clint Eastwood to let her play herself. Alot of the people of Savannah played themselves in the movie. The Judge is the lawyer of Jim Willaims, and the older socialite played parts in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2002, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-they-dont-use-actors-in-a-movie-for-authenticity/123066/24 "2002-08-11T17:31:44Z")
Does [Dale Dye](http://uk.imdb.com/Name?Dye,+Dale) count as an actor or a military advisor-turned-actor? If not, I’d nominate Pele, Bobby Moore, John Wark, Mike Summerbee, Ossie Ardiles, Kazimierz Deyna, Russell Osman and Kevin O’Callaghan, all professional football players in the cast of John Huston’s [Escape to Victory](http://uk.imdb.com/Title?0083284) (1981). ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2002, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-they-dont-use-actors-in-a-movie-for-authenticity/123066/25 "2002-08-11T17:58:07Z")
R. Lee Ermey, who played the D.I. in _Full Metal Jacket_, had already left the Marines when he became an actor. He was first hired as a helicopter pilot in _Apocalypse Now_. He was living in the Phillipines after leaving the Marines. He did two more films (_The Boys in Company C_ and _Purple Hearts_) and some TV appearances before being hired for the role in _Full Metal Jacket_. He was an actor who used to be a D.I., not a D.I., at that point. His subsequent film and TV roles have been fairly diverse, although many of his roles have been military. A similar case in Dennis Farina, who spent twenty years as a policeman. Towards the end of his career on the police force, he began trying out for and getting various small acting roles. He then retired from the force and began acting full times. He’s also had a diverse career, although many of his roles have been as policemen. It’s not true that most professionals can immediately step into a role playing someone of their profession. Sure, some can, but then acting is not an incredibly difficult skill. Just at random, some people will be able to pick it up reasonably quickly. Examples like R. Lee Ermey and Dennis Farina show that some people will be able to move in middle age from another career to one as an actor. But that doesn’t mean that most people can do it. Most people will be, at best, mediocre actors. ---
**Author:** ![sugaree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@sugaree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugaree)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2002, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-they-dont-use-actors-in-a-movie-for-authenticity/123066/26 "2002-08-11T19:56:30Z")
Musicians played small supporting roles in **Rock Star** - former and present members of Slaughter, Verve Pipe, Dokken, and Third Eye Blind, as well as Zach Wilde, Nick Cantonese (who went to high school in Pittsburgh with my husband- really nice guy), and Jason Bonham (looking old). Dennis Farina was a cop for twenty years? I will not be able to re-read Joseph Wambaugh’s novel **Finnegan’s Week** without picturing middle-aged detective and aspiring/failing actor Fin Finnegan as looking just like Dennis Farina. Without the talent. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2002, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-they-dont-use-actors-in-a-movie-for-authenticity/123066/27 "2002-08-11T21:16:47Z")
.[Jim Garrison](http://us.imdb.com/Bio?Garrison,+Jim+(I)), the New Orleans D.A. who prosecuted the Kennedy assasination conspiracy case (and who was portrayed by Kevin Costner in **JFK** ), played himself in **The Big Easy**. He later portrayed Chief Justice Earl Warren in **JFK**. [Fred Thompson](http://us.imdb.com/Name?Thompson,+Fred+Dalton), the attorney who represented Marie Ragghianti in her lawsuit against the Tennessee parole board (which resulted in the Governor of Tennessee and other state officials going to prison), played himself in **Marie**. Thompson parlayed that role into a fairly successful acting career before being elected U.S. Senator from Tennessee ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2002, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-they-dont-use-actors-in-a-movie-for-authenticity/123066/28 "2002-08-11T22:04:50Z")
This may be a bit odd, but the drones in _Silent Running_ (Huey, Dewey, & Louie) were played by bi-lateral amputees. The “costumes” were made to fit each person. For years, that fact was not known and people were amazed that the robots were so articulate. Only the robotic arms were special effects (and they often broke down). Check out the DVD (the above info comes from the documentary). ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2002, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-they-dont-use-actors-in-a-movie-for-authenticity/123066/29 "2002-08-11T22:12:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by medstar \* > \*\*This is quite ironic but Dr. Haing S. Ngor was murdered quite a few years ago in Los Angeles–a senseless mugging that went wrong. After surviving the tumultuous events in the movie, he succumbs to a street robbery. \*\* Didn’t his death inspire a change in the Simpsons? I may be having a false memory, but I thought the original episode had Homer flushing HIS oscar, but in syndication, it is Don Ameche’s. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2002, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-they-dont-use-actors-in-a-movie-for-authenticity/123066/30 "2002-08-11T22:47:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by watsonwil \* > \*\* > > Didn’t his death inspire a change in the Simpsons? I may be having a false memory, but I thought the original episode had Homer flushing HIS oscar, but in syndication, it is Don Ameche’s. \*\* Yeah, it did. The folks who do the Simpsons seem to be relative sensative (and sensable) about such things. They had a memorial notice at the end of the first Simpsons episode to run after George Harrison’s death (something like 3 days later). ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-they-dont-use-actors-in-a-movie-for-authenticity/123066/31 "2002-08-12T00:48:03Z")
Linda McCartney got the same treatment. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-they-dont-use-actors-in-a-movie-for-authenticity/123066/32 "2002-08-12T01:06:30Z")
This was why Keanu got his part in _Bill and Ted_, right? 🙂 I have heard that the groupies in _The Wall_ were real groupies, and the neo-Nazi youths were real neo-Nazi youths – can anyone confirm? _Singles_, a romantic comedy set in Seattle, featured cameos by members of Soundgarden and Alice in Chains, as well as basketball player Xavier McDaniel. Three members of Pearl Jam also appeared as three members of a luckless grunge band (“Citizen Dick”) fronted by Matt Dillon’s character. This may not have been the best idea. Eddie Vedder stole every scene, but Jeff Ament couldn’t even make lines like, “Hey Cliff, you’ve got to move your van!” sound convincing. The poor guy’s better off sticking with the bass. ---
**Author:** ![sjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@sjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjc)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-they-dont-use-actors-in-a-movie-for-authenticity/123066/33 "2002-08-12T01:16:45Z")
**The Temptations** is another example, the band members were all actual musicians IIRC. Good movie too. ---
**Author:** ![Tenebras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@Tenebras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenebras)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-they-dont-use-actors-in-a-movie-for-authenticity/123066/34 "2002-08-12T08:14:21Z")
Another surfing movie (in the spirit of the OP), **In God’s Hands** uses surfers who can act to play the surfers in the movie. Try watching **Point Break** and then this. Killer… Tenebras ---
**Author:** ![ElwoodCuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/edb3f5/32.png) [@ElwoodCuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElwoodCuse)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-they-dont-use-actors-in-a-movie-for-authenticity/123066/35 "2002-08-12T18:47:04Z")
The Hanson Brothers in Slap Shot were real life pro hockey players. Only two of them are brothers, though. ---
**Author:** ![lurkernomore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@lurkernomore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurkernomore)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-they-dont-use-actors-in-a-movie-for-authenticity/123066/36 "2002-08-12T18:58:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ElwoodCuse \* > \*\*The Hanson Brothers in Slap Shot were real life pro hockey players. Only two of them are brothers, though. \*\* Funny thing here, IIRC - there IS a third brother, but he got called up to a higher level farm club and couldn’t make the movie. He never made a splash in the NHL, and his brothers he left behind became the famous ones… ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-they-dont-use-actors-in-a-movie-for-authenticity/123066/37 "2002-08-12T21:46:43Z")
Tony Sirico as [Paulie Walnuts](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/sirico/sirico.shtml). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-they-dont-use-actors-in-a-movie-for-authenticity/123066.md?page=1)