By Antony Teofilo
Almost Famous
David Gotwals: The Man behind "The Man"
Insert breathless seventeen-to-thirty-five-year-old female extra and random crew-member into the following exchange:
"What is his name?", gasps 17-35.
"Uh, Dave, I think", deadpans crew member.
"He's so cute. What part is he playing in the movie?"
"He's not in the movie."
"But he's always in front of the camera."
"That's because he's Ben Affleck's stand-in. He stands where Affleck is going to stand so they can set the cameras and focus the lights."
"Oh, that's so sad. He's so beautiful."
Beauty notwithstanding, David Gotwals is an easygoing sort, a good trait for a stand-in to have. For the past three months, Dave's job has been an opportunity many cinephiles would pay a sizable sum to perpetrate: he hangs out on a movie set. Once in awhile, he gets up in front of the cameras and sits still. Otherwise, he spends his days observing the movie-making process, reading political history books, or just hanging out.
At first thought, one might wonder if these movie stars aren't getting a bit big for their britches. After all, they're getting paid thousands (if not millions) of dollars to appear in a film. Would it be too much to ask them to take their place on camera and wait patiently until filming is ready to begin, instead of having to hire someone to do the star's standing for them? If the actor's salary were all that figured into the equation, perhaps not. The true issue is fatigue. Each camera setup takes a minimum of fifteen to twenty minutes, and it's surprisingly hot under the lights. Lounge under a sunlamp for forty-five minutes, and then try and cry on cue, and you'll see the important purpose a stand-in serves: keeping the principle actors focused and fresh every time they step onto the set.
AntonyTeofilo: So you're the stand-in for Ben Affleck on JERSEY GIRL. How did you get the job?
DavidGotwals: Long story short, I met a girl at a party and she was a P.A. on a movie, and I went in and was an extra on that. She started working on HACK, and said that I should send my stuff into in to Mike Lemmon Casting for extras work. Then Mike Lemmon Casting called and said that they knew I sent in my stuff for HACK, but that they wanted to talk to me about standing in for Ben.
AT: Is it a pretty decent job?
DG: The crew makes it fun, actually. Doing the stand-in part of it isn't really very exciting. It's a pretty thankless job.
AT: Are you going to get a chance to be seen in JERSEY GIRL at all?
DG: I haven't asked and they haven't offered, so I'm not going to pursue it. If they want to put me in, I'll do it, that's fine. But I'm content with doing the stand-in job.
AT: How many hours a day do you spend working?
DG: I'm on set usually for ten to twelve hours. We've gone fifteen hours on some days.
AT: With the long, uneventful days, would you do stand-in work again?
DG: Yeah, I'd do it again. Absolutely.
AT: So are you going to follow Ben around and be his double on all the movies he does?
DG: If he would let me, I'd certainly do that. There are a lot of lead actors out there who bring the same guy to be their stand-in every time they do a movie. I know Nicolas Cage and Bruce Willis do. If Ben asked me to do it again, I would.
AT: Do you get to hang out with Affleck and the other stars of the movie at all?
DG: No, he generally comes to the set and does [the scene] and then he leaves. He's very professional, and he's all business. But he likes to goof around every once in awhile too, which is nice. I don't have much interaction with him because generally when I'm on-set, he's off-set. We've exchanged pleasantries and we say ÔHello', but we don't hang out.
AT: So what's next for you after your JERSEY GIRL adventure? Any more acting jobs on the line?
DG: There's not anything as of right now. I'll probably go back to my normal job.
AT: What's your normal job?
DG: I'm actually a financial advisor.
AT: How did you get three months off of work?
DG: I make my own hours, and I figured there wasn't really a better time to come and do this. The workload has been pretty light with the economy like it has been recently. There was just enough work that my partners could handle the workload with me gone.
AT: You don't have to give me numbers, but is the pay involved with being a stand-in pretty decent?
DG: As compared to some of the figures I've heard of people being paid on other [movies], I guess this one doesn't pay particularly well, but I'm not complaining. I don't know any better than what people tell me because I haven't been doing this very long. [Being a stand-in] is really fun. I didn't do it for the money anyway. It's really just about having the opportunity to be here and having a good time. I look at it as kind of a once in a lifetime, y'know?
So being a stand-in isn't always an easy job; long days, strange hours, hot lights, low pay, and for all their work they don't even get the chance to see their mug up on the silver screen.
But don't feel too sorry for Mr. Gothwals. Remember the exchange between the put-upon crewmember and the 17-35 year old female extra? Well, nine times out of ten, this is how it ends:
"That's because he's Ben Affleck's stand-in. He stands where Affleck is going to stand so they can set the cameras and focus the lights," says the crew member.
"Oh, that's so sad. He's so beautiful", replies 17-35.
"Yes. Tragic. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work."
"Okay", says 17-35 sadly.
But then she brightens and tugs on Crew Member's shirtsleeve.
"Um, do you think you could give him my number?"
Rough job indeed.
