A Starry Night in Miami: My First Taste of the Film Industry🌴⭐
I was only 16 when I got a gig as an extra in Bad Boys 1. It was so exciting for me! 😃 I didn’t have a car at the time- or my license for that matter-so my parents had to drive me to the set all the way in Downtown Miami. 🚗🌆
A Magical Debut on Set 🎬🤗
It was a magical night for me. I had never been on a movie set before. 🎬 I met extras that were passionate about the movie industry and about acting. 🎭 There was a buffet on the set and endless drinks and snack. 🍔🥤 And so we all ate together and shared stories. Together we felt the magic of the night and shared our dreams. What could be better than being on a Columbia Pictures movie set in the 90’s? I think of nothing else at the time. Being in movies and modeling seemed like a dream. 🌟 I loved 80’s and 90’s movies that are cult classics now. 📽️ I remember the runway shows on cable tv, the Hawaiian Tropic Models, and the Sports Illustrated Models.🌴👙 At the time, I really wanted to be a model but wasn’t tall enough. 👠 I did get to do some hair modeling and some runway shows for the local mall.💁
Meeting the Supermodels of the 90s 🌟
One thing I remember about the night on the set was seeing supermodels in person. 🤩 These women were towering. I had never seen women this tall in my life. They looked surreal. In the nineties, it was all about the supermodels. That night, I felt glamourous. I still remember the shiny dress and tall heels the wardrobe team let us borrow. My dress was the classic silver metallic cami dress of the 90’s. The heels I wore were more memorable for the pain I endured in them; although I do recall they were shiny (probably silver), strappy, and open-toed. 👗👠
The Fresh Prince and a Night of Laughter 😄🎶
There was a positive vibe and energy- a synergy if you will, on that special day and night. 😄 During breaks, Will Smith strut his music skills on a piano while singing and playing Little Richard’s Tutti Frutti. 🎹 I remember Will as very outgoing, respectful, and energetic. He had a welcoming presence that lit up the room. There was a scene in which another girl and I had to walk across a street to enter a nightclub. In between those takes, Martin Lawrence interacted with us in a playful manner and said “Hey, what you ladies doing?” Will Smith said, “Leave those ladies alone!” Will then smiled to us, made circles with his finger next to his ear to indicate Martin’s state of sanity, “Don’t pay attention to him, he’s crazy”. They were always joking around with everyone. 😄🎶
Late-Night Action and a Sudden Exit 🌙
It was almost 3am. We were working on a scene in which gunshots are heard inside the club and everyone has to run outside screaming. Running outside involved going some pretty long stairs. It was the 10th take and my feet were appalled by my tenacity to be the best extra possible. 😅 I don’t recall anything about Michael Bay at the time or if he was even there that day. Maybe he had some other substitute director shoot those scenes. To be honest, I didn’t really care who the director of Bad Boys was. I only knew or cared that it was a Columbia Pictures movie and that the Fresh Prince was in it. Anyhow, it was 3am and I had school the next day so my mum drove all the way from Hialeah to Downtown Miami to come and get me. I hated leaving since technically my gig was not done but school seemed more important; I think I had a test the next day. 📚🌙
Returning to Miami and Pursuing Dreams 🎭
That was my first experience on a movie set as an extra. It was memorable. After that, I ended up moving to other states and not doing any extra work. In North Carolina and Louisiana, where thrift stores and gun shops are the town’s centerpieces, there were no movie gigs waiting for me; it was certainly a far cry from the upbeat Miami scene. I missed Miami so badly and I wanted nothing more than to be back home. When I finally returned to Miami five years later, I began to pursue an acting career.
I took acting classes in Miami Dade College, I got my headshots done, and I looked for casting calls. I drove around Miami in the blaring heat with my old beat-up cherry Pontiac Grand Am with no ac going to those casting calls. I sucked it all up for the love of that Hollywood feeling. At one point, I even considered moving to California with a friend to continue my pursuit of fame, fortune, and glamour. At 21, it was all I could think of.
My backup plan was a psych degree, although all I could think of was getting gigs and performing. I still had some room to shake things up in my life. I took dance classes and successfully landed some well-paid gigs as a professional Middle dance performer for special events and Moroccan restaurants. So one day, my agent gave me a call and said they were looking for extras for Bad boys 2. 📞
The Second Stint and an Unexpected Encounter 🎬
I was ecstatic. The feeling of being on the set again made me happy, hopeful, and brought back the magical memories of my first time on a movie set. Being on Bad Boys again made me somewhat feel like part of the Bay Boys family set. I was happy to be chosen for a little routine this time in which I had to walk out of a hospital room into a corridor.
The wardrobe crew gave me a jean dress and a flower vase as a prop. I don’t remember the shoes they gave me this time. When I was told to walk out of the room and into the corridor, the timing must have been off since Will Smith’s character was pushing a hospital cart through the corridor at the same exact time. This caused an unintended interaction with Will Smith’s character, which in real life would be completely normal, where he almost bumped into me (see the scene below). Like the organic actor that he is, Will said, “Excuse me ma’am,” and continued down the corridor. This slight alteration of the original plan for the scene exploded into a draconian reaction by Michael Bay. “Cut!….Get her off my set!!!” 😳
Reflection and Solidarity 🙌
There was an awkward silence on the entire set as I stood frozen and speechless. After a few seconds that felt like an eternity transpired, a gentleman walked over to me and asked me to come with him. I followed him through some hallways that led into the wardrobe room. There I returned the dress and the flower vase I was given for my scene. I was then escorted out of the building and to the parking lot…like a criminal. 👮♂️
I got into my Pontiac and drove away. 🚗 A few blocks later and after waking up from the shock, streams of tears started to roll down my face. I felt like I should have said something. After all, I’m a person and not some prop or criminal that needs to be removed by someone else. I recalled thinking, “Why didn’t anyone stand up for me on that set?” Surely someone could see how wrong that was. What hurt me most of all is that I didn’t stand up for myself. 😔
I recall how deep down I was afraid of being blacklisted by my agent. I guess others in there were afraid of being fired and/or blacklisted as well. it wouldn’t have mattered anyways as I didn’t continue pursuing acting later on in life. The funny thing is, I can’t think of what I would have done differently other than leave the set wearing the clothes they gave me. Yeah, that would have probably given me a sense of satisfaction. Stealing…that’s right! Glad I learned something from the experience….to indulge in a life of crime. 😄👍
“I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.”
~ Maya Angelou
Years later when Megan Fox described Michael Bay as a sort of dictator on the set, I finally understood. She got so much crap for that, and she was already famous. When certain people are set to no standards in how they treat others, they devour those around them with no remorse. For all you extras out there, look out for each other. If it weren’t for you there would be no immersion in movies. If you don’t want to be perceived as expendable, then stand in solidarity. Megan Fox, thank you. 🙏🎬🎭
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
~ Martin Luther King Jr.
