'Empire' TV series looks for extras for Joliet scene at Rialto

JOLIET – Hundreds of potential extras interviewed Thursday for a chance to appear in an episode of the Fox TV series “Empire,” which is being filmed next week at the Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet.

The drama series about a hip-hop music company named Empire Entertainment will use the theater that locals call the “Jewel of Joliet” for a concert scene. The filming is scheduled for Wednesday.

“We’ll use as many as 1,500 [extras] on Wednesday,” said Jess Gisin, co-owner of 4 Star Casting of Chicago, the company that interviewed the prospects.

She said people who just show up Wednesday will have a chance to be in the scene, too.

The interviews took place at the Rialto, which likely will be shown in some detail in the episode, scheduled to appear sometime in the spring, Gisin said.

“They’ll feature a lot of its beauty,” Gisin said. “They tend to do that. That’s why they pick locations.”

The Rialto won’t be the only local landmark in “Empire.” Two weeks ago, film crews were at the old Joliet prison on Collins Street to film an episode that Gisin said will be the fall finale for “Empire” in December.

Much of “Empire” is filmed in Chicago, and a lot of the casting for extras is done there. Gisin said 4 Star Casting came to Joliet to look for local extras for the Rialto scene.

Filming TV or movie scenes in Joliet is uncommon, but not unprecedented.

Darnell F. Jackson Jr. of Joliet, who interviewed with 4 Star Casting, said he got a speaking role in another Fox TV series, “Prison Break,” when it was filmed at the prison.

Being an extra is not glamorous work, Jackson said, but it’s a chance to be in show business on a professional set.

“You stand a lot – 10 to 12 hours a day,” he said. “But they pay you a pretty good check. They feed you. You meet some top people.”

The 4 Star Casting crew in Joliet emphasized the long hours and standing around when interviewing for extras.

“Extra work is hard work,” Gisin said. “A lot of people don’t realize that. It’s long hours.”

First-timers are told to bring a book or something else to occupy them for the long waits in-between action.

Gisin and Erin Stewart, the other owner of 4 Star Casting, tell tales of one law student who studied for the bar exam while working as an extra, and another who wrote a screenplay.

Extras do have a chance to get speaking roles, Stewart said. But, she added, it’s “atypical.” Many professional extras love to see themselves in the movies even if it’s just a single frame, she said.

“It depends on the scene,” said Anajiyyah Khalilallah of Normal, who has performed as an extra before in “Empire” and was in Joliet for an interview. “It can be a crowd scene, and all you see is the top of your head.”

Most of those who came Thursday were from Joliet and the immediate area.

They included Kendall Jackson of Joliet.

“My boyfriend was an extra,” Jackson said. “I think I’ll give it a try.”