Oopsies and cop uniforms

It's summertime in Michigan, and that means one thing! Well, it means a lot of things (e.g. trips "up north," gardening and getting a tan, with a mixture of humidity and road construction thrown in there, too), but to me, it means doing extra work. A lot of films are now produced in Michigan, and they mostly shoot during the summer. After all, who wants to film when it's -9 degrees outside (especially if the film is set in Southern California)?

I've been an extra in two films this summer. The first was called "The Five-Year Engagement," and when I showed up on set, I knew nothing about it. I had no idea who was in it or what it was about; I just knew I had to dress like I was going to an upscale breakfast.

Apparently, I don't own anything that's upscale breakfast-appropriate as the wardrobe department immediately gave me one of their outfits to wear(which was a great, little blouse and a cute, grey pencil skirt). After I changed into said outfit, one of the women from the hair department asked me to come to the hair trailer with her.

I sat down in the first chair available, and immediately the guy (who was getting his hair done as well) next to me tapped my leg. I looked up. He smiled and said, "Hey, I'm Jason."

"I'm Kate. Nice to meet you," was my reply.

The following conversation then ensued:

Jason: Nice to meet you, too. So...who are you playing today?

Me: I play a person eating breakfast in a restaurant. The food better be good because I don't plan to do much acting.

Jason: (laughs) I hope it's good, too.

Me: So...who are you playing? Are you an extra as well?

Jason: (smirks) Um, no...

Me: Oh. Who do you play?

Hairstylist: Uh, he's one of the leads. And he also wrote the movie.

Me: Ah. So...are you from Michigan then, or LA?

Jason: LA.

Me: Do you like Michigan?

Jason: I dig Ann Arbor. It's very nice.

Some more small talk, and then he exists.

Only after I left the hair trailer and looked up the film on Internet Movie Database did I realize I was just speaking to Jason Segel (from "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" fame), who apparently is very famous. And here I was, thinking he was a fellow extra.

After I told the story to several friends, they took turns teasing me for being an idiot because (as one said) "he's totally famous! Everyone knows who he is."

Everyone, apparently, but Kate Brindle.

Last week, I got the chance to play a Customs Agent in "The Citizen." Nothing particularly comical happened on set, but I did get to wear this outfit:

I'm not going to lie, wearing a badge is kinda awesome. I'm just mad that I was not supplied with handcuffs or a gun. I can only hope that next time I'll be given a weapon.