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Saturday, Nov. 28, 2009

Macon youth minister lands part in ‘Blind Side’

Not many people can say they’ve chewed out actress Sandra Bullock.

A Macon youth minister can. At least he did on a movie set.

“She was very cool,” said Jody Thompson, an assistant youth pastor at Vineville United Methodist Church in Macon who snagged a part opposite Bullock in the new movie “The Blind Side.”

Thompson’s red hair, freckles and Southern charm seem to strike a chord with casting directors who are making movies filmed in the South.

He also played a Civil War re-enactor with one line in “Sweet Home Alabama,” and had a scene in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”

“I’ve been fortunate to be part of a lot of good films,” the 36-year-old said.

“The Blind Side” is based on the true story of football player Michael Oher, who, as a teen, was homeless. He was taken in by an affluent couple, played in the movie by Bullock and country singer Tim McGraw, who made him part of their family and helped him along the way.

Thompson plays a paramedic.

After a car wreck, “I look at her kid and chastise her for having her son in the front seat, since he’s so small.”

Thompson filmed the scene with Bullock this past summer in Atlanta, although he didn’t get to meet McGraw.

Thompson, a Lithonia native, got interested in acting after watching his father emcee for an Opry-style show in Newborn.

After high school, he packed up to attend a performing arts school in Hawaii, later leaving it for Los Angeles.

He could only get roles in commercials, so he left California after two years and headed back to Atlanta, where he befriended top casting agents who have helped him read for roles.

His first line came in the movie “Andersonville,” a made-for-television movie about the prisoner-of-war camp. That allowed him to join the Screen Actors Guild.

He was cast as a villain in some period films. He was a member of a jury in “The Lena Baker Story,” and he burned down a church in “Mama Flora’s Family.”

In the last few years, he’s broken into sports movies and comedies, including playing a sheriff held hostage by the late Bernie Mac in “Soul Men.”

Because Georgia offers a tax incentive for movie production companies to film in the state, more roles have come his way, he said.

“Jody has had parts in lots of movies,” said his friend Mike Kinnebrew, who’s the youth director at Vineville Methodist. “When he first started out, his parts were so small, when we got groups together to watch we’d find out his part had been cut.”

It was exciting for the church’s youth group to meet up with Thompson recently at a Macon theater to watch him in “The Blind Side.”

“When his part came up, they erupted into applause,” Kinnebrew said. “Jody is great with kids and a great role model.”

And he’s not done on the movie set just yet.

Thompson just shot a small scene in Atlanta with Katherine Heigl — he plays a contractor — for an upcoming movie that also stars Josh Duhamel.

This week, he was reading for a line in an upcoming film starring Kate Hudson, as well as for a part on a television show.

“I’ve been crazy blessed because I’ve been pretty busy,” he said. “I guess I fit a specific category, with red hair and freckles.”

To contact writer Julie Hubbard, call 744-4331.