Dunedin Man Appears in Thriller Movie

Lary Crews went to the movies on Friday and was surprised to see himself on the big screen. He didn't know he'd made the cuts (or the credits).

Crews, of Dunedin, was called to be an extra in a low-budget fantasy-thriller film in November 2010. He was cast as a dead, whistling, newspaper-reading 1940s-era dad in the movie that became “Insidious,” which hit theaters over the weekend.

“It took almost three hours to do my makeup,” Crews said in an email. “I was fascinated by the attention to detail. Even my hands were made up to look like a dead person.”

“Insidious,” directed by James Wan (“Saw,” 2004), is about a family trying to prevent their young son from being trapped in an evil realm called the "Further." It stars Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne and child actor Ty Simpkins.

“Patrick Wilson was the second person to shake my hand and thank me for making the movie,” Crews said. “He was as nice as could be.”

“Insidious” was one of the top grossing films in its opening weekend. It pulled in about $13.2 million, just behind big-budget films “Hop” and “Source Code.” Crews, who is in his 60s, ended up in the background of two scenes.

Crews, who grew up in the Tampa Bay area, said he moved to Los Angeles and worked as an extra in TV shows (“Cold Case,” “The Office,” Heroes”) between May 2008 and 2010. He and his wife Lori settled in Dunedin last summer.

"Insidious" is rated PG-13.

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