Local extras get a bang out of 'Public Enemies' roles
When you go to see Johnny Depp's new gangster movie "Public Enemies" - and what Chicagoland filmgoer would miss it? - keep a sharp lookout for the news photographer at the Biograph Theater.
And the innocuous-looking passenger at Union Station.
And the guy dancing around the Aragon Ballroom.
They're all played by the same extra, Andrew Manion of Sugar Grove.
"I spoke several times with Johnny Depp," Manion said of his brush with celebrity. "He's very gracious."
What about Depp's co-star, Christian Bale, the star of the Chicago-made super-hit thriller "The Dark Knight"?
"Bale was the most standoffish," Manion reported. "But then, he has a reputation for that."
Manion appears in six scenes of the Michael Mann-directed drama. Lombard resident Kurt Nehbig, who directed Aurora University's spring theater production, also worked as an extra in several scenes, one with both Depp and Bale.
In real life, Manion serves as provost and chief academic officer at Aurora University. He holds a Ph.D. in psychology. Still, it was his flair for swing-dancing with his wife (and Aurora University librarian) Amy Manion that caught the attention of "Public Enemies" casting directors.
Manion said that his favorite moviemaking moment came on his first day as he stood on LaSalle Street at Union Station.
"It was a moment that gave me a great appreciation for the scope of the whole thing," he said. "Here we had all these old-fashioned cars on the street. We had period trains coming into the station. It was all very grand and impressive."
Yes, Manion admitted that working as extra on "Public Enemies" had its share of excitement and glamour, but "for the 16 minutes of excitement and glamour I got, there was three hours of boring, waiting around. Most of our time was spent sitting around and waiting to be called."
Manion and his fellow extras spent six straight days - sundown to sunrise - outside of the infamous Biograph Theater where FBI agents gunned down John Dillinger (Depp's character) on July 22, 1934. Manion hasn't seen the movie yet (extras and the press were not invited to the premiere showing June 18), but he expects those six days of work will yield only a few brief minutes on screen.
"It was my first and only extra job," Manion said.
Only?
"Because of the sheer amount of work and time it takes," he explained. "I used up a lot of vacation to do this. Still, it was a fun thing to do."
Once.
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=303578">Gire: Perfectly cast 'Public Enemies' hits its mark <span class="date">[06/30/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=301396">Depp, Bale hit Chicago for the premiere of 'Public Enemies' <span class="date">[06/18/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=303519">Dillinger grave sees more visitors amid movie hype <span class="date">[06/29/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=290863">Midwest hopes for 'Public Enemies' tourism <span class="date">[05/03/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>