Rob Wise

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

About Rob
Performances: Charlotte, Salisbury, Winston-Salem and Greensboro.
Characters: Fan and reporter.
First check: I gave it to my wife.
All in the family: Daughter Ashley also earned a part as an extra.
Acting experience: “I took drama in high school but I never expected it to pay off like this!”

A Clooney moment: “The first time George Clooney came over to the rock wall he was telling us how to jump the wall and be real excited as the game ended. There were red bugs crawling along the wall and someone told him not to get too close because they were chiggers. He called to a crewmember to come over and look at the bugs. He was personal in that he was all business but he had fun showing his Southern heritage.

Rob Wise knows how to make people feel good.

He contributes his time at Christmas as a mall Santa with special attention to the children. “I relate to the children and it makes me feel good,” says Rob. It also makes Rob feel good when parents call in advance to the mall and ask if their favorite Santa is there.

It was a person from the mall that encouraged Rob to answer a final call for the “Leatherheads” extras. “I got a call and the person said George Clooney is in town to do some casting and I know you will be able to get a part,” Rob recalls. “My wife took a photo of me, we took it to Eckerd to get processed and I signed up. I didn’t get a call for a while and finally the casting people called and I got to be a fan in Charlotte. Then I got a call asking if I could make it to Salisbury April 11-12-13. I got a complete change of wardrobe from a fan to a reporter.”

When Rob went through hair (daily haircuts) and light makeup he was told by one makeup artist he had the kind of face they were looking for. “My grandfather (Mellwood Smith) played football back in the day of the Leatherheads and he would have loved to seen this. He had the face for this movie.”

Rob says his beard presented some special attention from the makeup crew. “I have a heavy beard and would shave every morning before I went to the set. They would apply a little makeup to cover up the growth since it was already getting a shadow when I arrived early in the morning! I even bought a razor to bring and shave in the car before going to makeup but I still needed a little makeup. I didn’t mind though.”

In one scene Rob was placed atop the scoreboard next to a poster of Carter Rutherford smoking a cigarette. He was also moved along the sidelines for background during some scenes. “I got moved around to several locations,” Rob says.

Rob also got to observe Clooney working the crank camera. “He personally liked to do that,” Rob says.

Rob said his fondest memory was a scene he was participating in with Renee Zellweger. “The scene that stood out in my mind was when I went to Winston-Salem and there was a big press conference at a school with Renee in it. Some people were trying to denounce Carter as a WWI hero he was portraying to be. Renee stood up and yelled, ‘You’re a liar!’ I was also surprised with how small Renee was. I remember Renee in “Bridget Jones” where she had gained weight. But was really tiny.”

“The entire experience was very rewarding. The crew, Clooney and directors treated us with respect and told us what was going on during the shoots. The first thing Ian (Calip, second, second assistant) said if ‘we had any problems to let us know.’ One day I called in to the Pam Stone radio talk show to explain how well Clooney treated us. The cast had their business to do and would be rehearsing their lines. Everything was very professional.”

“You would hear cast and crew talk and they all said if Clooney did more acting/directing movies they would all like to work for him again. Everybody worked hard and it was a very good atmosphere.”

Rob says fans would line the outside of the fence of the set and wave to all the extras not knowing if they were stars or not. At times Rob would be talking to some friends and fans would overhear him tell of his experiences. “It was very humbling to be standing around and have people listen to you tell them what you’ve been doing. I felt like it was a privilege to do that and I was very respectful and not boastful.”

Rob said he was looking forward to participating among the extras when it made its stop at Statesville. “I’m from Statesville and had been excited anticipating to be able to part of the cast when it came to my home town. But I was told that I had too much face time and they wanted to get more people in some scenes. It made me feel a little bad but I understood why they did that.”

Four years ago Rob was diagnosed with renal carcinoma (kidney) cancer. “I had a tumor on one kidney,” Rob says. “Everything is going well now. It seems like everything since then has been positive. I feel like another star is on my side in what I’m doing.”