6 Tips For Landing a Role In Ben Stiller’s CNY Miniseries

So, you've always wanted to be in pictures. Here's your big chance.

Ben Stiller needs YOU on camera in his next project. The Hollywood star is seeking extras for the upcoming Showtime miniseries he's directing about the infamous Clinton Correctional Facility escapees Richard Matt and David Sweat, and Joyce Mitchell, the jail employee who loved them. The daring prison break and love triangle was always made for Hollywood, right from the start, as this piece hinted in June of 2015.

Benicio Del Toro and Patricia Arquette are among the stars. The open casting call is Saturday, July 22nd, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm at the Strand Central Theater in Plattsburgh. ProjectCasting.com has more details.

Here are some tips on how to land a slot as an extra--what to do and what NOT to do--and how you might even get promoted to a speaking role.

Rule #1: Fill out the email properly.

They'll weed you right out of the process if you don't respond with the proper info they request in the subject line of the email. They figure if you can't listen to those instructions properly, you probably won't be ready to take instruction in a big scene.

Rule #2: Don't talk to the main actors.

Mind your own business. Everyone is there to do a job. If one of the actors engages YOU in conversation, then it's okay to go for it. But, be prepared. Maybe DelToro asks you for a light. Comply with a match and take the opportunity to ask him about, say, his work on recycling and the environment in his homeland of Puerto Rico.

Rule #3: Resemble one of the lead actors.

The director might need a stand-in for a few minutes if Arquette oversleeps. So, do yourself a favor and find a pair of those dreamy eyeglasses Joyce Mitchell wore to seduce the prisoners; there are plenty of pictures online (like the one below, where Penelope Ann Miller played her in a Lifetime movie).

Rule #4: Pay attention to what's happening in the scene.

If you're really INTO the scene and go the extra mile to do what the director wants, you'll stand out from the other extras and you might get more prominently utilized. Teachers' pets score, even in Hollywood productions.

Rule #5: Know the story.

Imagine Ben Stiller asking out loud for some detail, and YOU blurt it out...

STILLER: Does anyone know if any celebrities have ever been incarcerated in Dannemora?

YOU: Rap star Tupac Shakur did nine months at the facility on a sexual abuse conviction.

Stiller is so smitten with your pluck and charm, he casts you as the ingenue in his NEXT film. Okay, maybe we're getting carried away, but you get the idea.

Rule #6: Have a nice headshot ready, just like the pros.

They'll probably ask you to provide a head-and-shoulders pic and a full body-length shot of yourself. Be ready to supply those in the initial email response and have back-ups on your phone, just I case. And crop out your crazy uncle Kevin.