By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com, filed January 15, 2011
Rudat told his colleague Jennifer Valdez today on air that it happened almost accidentally.
"I'm not an actor at all," he said. "I got to play myself on the set of a movie."
While working in Los Angeles before he came to Atlanta, he said a casting director requested him for the film. He had no idea what a Green Hornet was, learning later it was a comic-book superhero.
The film is narrated by news anchors, he said. Four actors they cast couldn't read a teleprompter. The director fired them and looked to him and another actual journalist. He went from having three lines to 57 lines. (He has no idea how many made the final cut.)
Rudat said he didn't have to memorize lines because everything was on a teleprompter. "The funny thing was, us in the news business, nothing is glamorous, but when you go to a Hollywood set, everything is catered to you," he said.
Over two days, Rudat said he had his own trailer, was brought food and even had a body double so he didn't have to sit on set all day.
He never met Diaz, but heplans to attend the director's party next week and will hopefully meet her then.
He is seeing it the film tonight.
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By Rodney Ho, rho@ajc.com, AJCRadioTV blog
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