Ryan Reynolds’ Free Guy has finally arrived in theaters after facing several delays, bringing to life a bank teller named Guy who is living in an open-world video game. To create this world, several extras or background actors were hired to be a part of the film. In a new featurette for Free Guy, Reynolds is honoring some of these background actors for the work they put in behind the scenes.
While Reynolds’ Guy is obviously front and center in the film’s synopsis and trailers, he is essentially meant to be a background character. However, while he is supposed to stay in the shadows, he somehow happens to find himself trying to make sense of “an insane and chaotic world.” So, Reynolds thought it would be appropriate to honor a “few of the background actors who helped make this world so special.”
Janelle Feigley, one of the background actors interviewed as part of the featurette, reveals that she “ran over 200 miles on the sets of Free Guy.” While it may seem that she is doing this to get in shape, Feigley has a different reason for someone who is simply running in the background in different shots. While on the sets of a movie as a background actor, she is “soaking in as much as [she] can,” learning from the crew members and understanding the different equipment and cameras being used.
In real life, she is from a small town and runs her own art business. As an artist, she respects the art of filmmaking and wants to be able to embrace it. “Art is why I love this industry,” she is heard saying, while the featurette offers viewers a look at her art studio filled with paintings that she has created.
Brandon Scales is another actor featured in the video, and he plays the role of “the guy walking up and down the street.” In one of the scenes, he even gets punched in the face by a mugger and has his stuff stolen. All of this is happening in the background, though, and viewers would miss the incident as they focus on the main characters.
To Scales, being a background actor is like attending film school. He gets to meet different people from the industry and being on set is the perfect opportunity for networking. He is even producing his own projects now, in order to provide the same chance to others. “In my life, I’m the leading man and Ryan Reynolds is in the background,” he is heard joking in the featurette.
Free Guy is now showing at theaters.
Source: Ryan Reynolds|YouTube