Larry Crowne (2011): Julie Wagner Gives Us the Inside Scoot
Julie Wagner, stand in and body double for Julia Roberts, shares her experience as an actress and working on set with Tom Hanks.
Larry Crowne, written and directed by Tom Hanks, was released during the summer I graduated college. When it was released on DVD some months later (during the good ol' days when you had to wait) I was working at Family Video, our version of Blockbuster here in Pittsburgh. Being a fan of Julia Roberts in Erin Brockovich and Hanks in Cast Away, I decided to use one of my employee rental credits and bring it home.
At the time I was living with my parents in that awkward “what now?” stage of life. Though Larry Crowne (Tom Hanks) was heading into college and I was heading out, the movie inspired me to seize opportunities with a positive attitude that would make my life "speck-tack-alar," as Larry might say. It also inspired me to say sayonara to any "tiny dick losers," like Mercedes (Julia Roberts) does to her low-life husband (Brian Cranston).
While revisiting this movie and looking for screenplays to sharpen my screenwriting skills, I crossed paths with Julie Wagner who worked on Larry Crowne as an actress and stand in and body double for Julia Roberts. She has also worked with Roberts on Erin Brockovich and Ocean's Elven, been a double for Nicole Kidman and Rene Russo, and scored an acting role in Moneyball, one of my favorite movies about sports.
Fascinated by Julie's unique contribution to movies I love, I asked her to share her experience as an actress and crew member for Larry Crowne.
What inspired you to become an actress?
As a child I was fascinated by movies and TV shows and wondered how they got made. At 13, I took a drama class and was bitten by The Bug, which led to many theater roles in high school and college. Although I loved doing theater, I knew I had to pursue the dream in film and TV production. The learned experience of how difficult it was to land even the smallest part (1-liners) was a fast realization...so I found a more financially secure niche as a crew member on set. I did return to theater for a nice part in a musical. However, my bread and butter for 22 years was working as a stand in and body double to the stars.
How did you land the role in Larry Crowne?
I have worked the most frequently with Julia Roberts, doing eight shows with her. While I was working with her in 2011 on Larry Crowne, I was lucky enough to be upgraded to a speaking part...and my scene is with Tom Hanks. It’s actually very rare to get upgraded to a principal part, but with luck, timing and a little persistence, I was able to accomplish that ten times in my career. Also, since I had that speaking part, I was invited to the movie premiere and got to walk the red carpet. Nice perk!
What was your experience like on set?
We shot it at Paramount Studios, which is a magical place to shoot because of the vast cinematic history. Since I’ve worked on hundreds of shows, there’s a lot to compare to. Working on Larry Crowne was a wonderful experience, partly because Tom Hanks is indeed the nicest guy in Hollywood. Lots of laughs on set and reasonable hours: only 11-12 hour days, not 15. The film itself wasn’t a big box office hit but it was a blast to be a part of another big movie. One I’ll never forget.
What's your favorite scene?
Of course I like the scenes that I’m in! That is, it’s me doubling for Julia. A favorite is the night shot of Tom driving Julia on his scooter, moving very slowly. The wide/master shot is actually me, since production doesn’t want to endanger the lead actors. The close-up shots are clearly Julia. Master shots are usually a body or stunt double if there’s a vehicle involved. This was a super fun scene to rehearse, with just me and Tom, where I had to run lines with him on the scooter on the Paramount backlot. That was a day I would’ve worked for free.
Watch Larry Crowne
You can watch Larry Crowne on your favorite streaming platform or see if it's currently streaming for free by visiting the movie's IMDB page. You can also check out the official behind the scenes video of Larry Crowne below. Keep an eye out for Julie as Mercedes in the nighttime scooter scene at 2:44.
Enjoy this speck-tack-alar watch, and thank you Julie!