Donnie Icenhour

Title: Leatherheads, feature film
Cast: George Clooney, Renee Zellweger
Extra: Donnie Icenhour
Producers: Grant Heslov, George Clooney, Casey Silver
Director: George Clooney
Script: George Clooney, Stephen Schiff, Duncan Brantley, Rick Reilly

About Donnie
Real job: Owns a real estate company.
Came to “Leatherheads”: Not a fan of George Clooney.
Left: With a professional respect for Clooney and the way he treated all cast, crew and extras.
Bottom line: “I am a relationship person. I was surprised with all the friendships formed after three weeks together, eight plus hours a day.”
Memorable sendoff: “The coach (Wayne Duvall playing Frank Ferguson) for Clooney’s team was clowning around with the players on the last day of shooting for him. The field was muddy and he kept harassing the players. When the final shooting was over the team threw him in the mud.”

A three-week stint with “Leatherheads”
When Donnie Icenhour signed up as an extra for “Leatherheads” he had a purpose in mind.

“I wanted to get my SAG (Screen Actors Guild) card,” said Donnie. He was an extra in the 1996 Whoopi Goldberg movie “Eddie”. “That experience influenced Donnie’s decision to sign up for “Leatherheads.”

“I was hoping to get my SAG card so I could get into some commercials and explore some opportunities. I have no desire to make a career out of this.”

Donnie spent three weeks as an extra in North Carolina at Salisbury, Charlotte, Greensboro and Winston-Salem. He owns his own real estate company and that allowed him to work while traveling to the filming sites. “I did it for fun. I remembered enjoying being an extra in Eddie.”

Donnie got to see a variety of scenes being shot and had the opportunity to work his way into some scenes involving George Clooney and Renee Zellweger.

He also got frequent attention in the hair and makeup area. “I didn’t have much hair to begin win and it was cut two more times during the time I was an extra. In Winston-Salem I shaved late every morning before getting on the set and they told me to shave even closer near the end.”

Quick acting tip from Clooney
“At Salisbury Renee was right behind me when she was acting in a press conference. When we were on the front row Clooney told us how to act and to be attentive to what was being said by Carter’s (John Krasinski) agent (CC played by Jonathan Pryce).

“And I was on a train when she and George Clooney was getting off. I was right behind Carter and his agent. I didn’t get to act but it was neat seeing them and how the trains were used. The train we used for the filming was authentic and of the period of the movie. There was another train used that was just a shell that had the tracks underneath making it look like the tracks were coming right through the train.”

New respect for Clooney
Donnie was candid on his feelings toward Clooney coming into the filming and what he thought afterwards. “To be honest, I was a big George Clooney fan before the shooting but afterwards I am. I didn’t agree with his political views. But I saw a side of him that was very impressive. In a lot of cases he had a peer-to-peer relationship with his crew. With the extras he was kind of friendly and gave us the feeling he knew we were hot and uncomfortable but respected us for being there.

“He talked with everyone and treated everybody I saw equally. I never heard any discontent from anybody. I’m a relationship type of person and I came away with more respect for him and his work ethic. Clooney didn’t mind getting muddy with the rest of the players and his demeanor was always the same. Someone brought a pair of binoculars and I got a chance to watch him and he treated everybody fairly and the same level of respect.”