A Bit of Advice for Would-Be Extras : Show business: Veteran ‘background celebrity’ teaches workshop on how to land minor TV and movie parts, and how to act on the set.

Daniel Ruesche has a name and face you probably don’t recognize.

But with the release of Oliver Stone’s highly touted film biography of President Richard Nixon this fall, that might change. It will, that is, if you catch a glimpse of Ruesche in the five seconds he appears in the wedding scene as Nixon’s best man.

The 35-year-old former aerospace worker is a film extra, and one of nine people who showed up for an Orange Coast College workshop Saturday morning that taught aspiring somebodies how to become nobodies in film, television and commercials.

“I would love to make a career out of this,” said Ruesche, who recently was laid off from his job.

In the three-hour course titled “How to Make Money as a Hollywood Extra,” students learned how to maximize their chances of becoming a “background celebrity.” Instructor Glenn David, a veteran Hollywood extra and stand-in, told students that good looks and acting experience are helpful, but they don’t compare to having “reliable transportation and a beeper.”

“They love being able to get ahold of you any time,” said David, who in 20 years as an extra has appeared in “Burke’s Law,” “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Roseanne.”

Students, who paid $35 for the one-day workshop, also were urged to dress conservatively upscale since that is a look casting directors seem especially partial to these days.

“They love aerospace engineers,” said David, a Hemet resident, “because they have the wardrobe, $300 suits and all the accessories. They love that.”

That was good news for 56-year-old James Williams, a retired aerospace engineer from Westminster. The workshop was his first venture into show biz.

“I’m no actor--I’ve got no talent, really,” said Williams, who would have been overjoyed to play an extra in the summer blockbuster “Apollo 13.” A bit part would have been especially fitting for Williams, the engineer said, since he worked on the fueling mechanisms for the rockets in the space program, including the Apollo 13 mission.

In addition to a sliver of fame, the jobs can also be lucrative for those with flexible schedules, David said. Minimum pay for non-union workers is around $40 a day, while for union workers the compensation rises to about $95 per day. Often extras may be asked to work overtime or perform additional tasks such as playing tennis or cold-reading a part, which brings in even more money, said the square-jawed David, who is frequently cast as a detective.

An extra who is ambitious and lucky can make as much as $50,000 in a year, he added.

“You can make money just for being a speck in the back,” enthused David, who has never had a spoken part in film or television. “It’s a tremendous business.”

The hopefuls also were given pointers on how to act if they do land a role. Probably the most important thing to remember, said David, was “not to talk to the lead actor when they are working.” But, perhaps during a lunch break, if it “looks cool,” a star can be approached.

It can be easy to overlook extras, but--perish the thought--imagine where movies like “Waterworld” or “Ben-Hur” would have been without them, David said.

“Without the extras, the lead actors would die,” David said. “In essence, the extras are just as important as the lead actors.”