Scott Walker, 54, a retired Dayton street maintenance worker, worked as an extra to drive an El Camino. He drove alongside a Ford Mustang and a 1966 Cadillac, plus about seven other cars from yesteryear.
“It was neat. We probably did 50 takes yesterday, creating a traffic flow,” he said. “I’m hoping for a close-up.”
While Walker enjoyed himself, he did lose something in his quest for fortune and fame – his beard.
“I guess they shaved it so I would have more of that ’70s look,” he said.
Tim Schroder of Schroder’s Towing of Georgetown in Brown County started his day at 4 a.m. Monday – all to trailer his 1967 Ford Mustang to Dayton so it could be in the “Old Man and the Gun.”
The lime green Mustang cruised on Second Street near the Liberty Savings Bank as vehicles simulated a normal traffic pattern.
“It’s all original,” Schroder said. “I have cars that are beefed up. This one isn’t, and I could have driven it from Georgetown to Dayton.”
Another extra mentioned Schroder’s car during auditions for the movie, and the producers called Schroder about it. Monday he also drove a friend’s 1967 Buick Special for filming.
Schroder himself appears in full dress and character as a patron inside a diner scene, plus in a rain shot filmed in Hamilton.
“It’s an honor to be near (Robert Redford), Sissy (Spacek), Casey Affleck and Tika Sumpter, Tom Waits and Danny Glover,” Schroder said. “I didn’t expect to be in the movie myself. I guess that’s something I can wipe off the bucket list now.”
Schroder’s towing business doesn’t allow him much time to show his collection of American muscle – two Chevy Novas, a pair of ’69 Camaros, a ’68 SuperSport Chevelle and the Mustang – at cruise-ins and other automotive events, as he covers Brown County and a large area in Kentucky.
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