I was an extra for the film Milk in San Francisco. They needed people of Irish heritage because the Castro district was mostly Irish when Harvey Milk first moved there. Since it was a period film, we got paid for costume fittings as well as for the shoot. The scene was the first Castro Street festival. We stood around all day listening to a live Irish music band and pretending to have fun.

The catering was great, Sean Penn stared at me and I stared back without issue. (How could he help himself?) Director Gus Van Zandt thanked each extra personally and shook our hands. It was a first class experience, all the way. Unfortunately, I wound up on the cutting room floor. It made sense when I saw the film, though. The mood of the scene we shot was all wrong for the finished film. I can still say I worked on a Best Picture winner though.