We were home in Barcelona for just one day between our trips to Florida and England in December. And it was on that single Barcelona day that I received a call from a casting agency here in town, inviting me to audition for a walk-on part in Red Lights, the upcoming film by Buried director Rodrigo Cortés and starring Robert De Niro and Sigourney Weaver. I was very happy that they called me. I was also leaving for England the next day. So I summoned up the strength to inform them that I would not be available for the audition but to please get in touch after the New Year if they were still looking for actors. They agreed and I went to England for Christmas, not expecting to hear from them again. Well, I heard from them again. They called me soon after we came back to Barcelona and invited me back to audition. Very cool.

I read for the role of Reporter #2. It was a very quick audition. I think I was in there for all of about three minutes. This was because they were casting a very wide net, auditioning everyone they could get their hands on to slot into all the supporting roles in the film. They thanked me kindly for coming and said they’d let me know if there was any good news. They also told me that similar auditions were currently being held in London, Toronto, and Los Angeles. Having done unfortunately well in my college semester of Probability and Statistics, I bid them farewell and made my way home, ready to put the whole thing out of my mind. But damn it if they didn’t call me again a few days later.

Someone must have really liked my Reporter #2. Well, maybe not all that much because they now wanted me to read for the role of Man in Bathroom #2. And there were only four people reading for the part. And the other three were British! Again, it was an in-and-out operation but I got a good feeling from the casting agent. But keep in mind that my math skills are far better than my intuition. They said they’d let me know if there was any good news. That was five days ago.

I should admit that I do not believe there to be a surplus of American actors here in Barcelona. So I have that going for me. Sure, they could cast someone from an English-speaking country, but if the film is to be shot here in Spain, they stand to save quite a bit of money for every actor they cast locally, avoiding airfare, hotel, and per diems. Hurray for math! I guess we just wait and see now. I’ll let you know if anything comes from this.