Editor’s Note: Curt Andrews, a 1971 Watonga High School graduate, spent part of 2021 working as a background performer on the set of ‘Killers of the Flower Moon.’ The movie was filmed in Oklahoma and tells the story of the Osage Murders that occurred in eastern Oklahoma in 1920s; it is based on the 2017 book of the same name. Directed by the legendary Martin Scorsese, ‘Flower Moon’ features an all-star cast including Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, Brendan Fraser and Lily Gladstone. In this letter, Andrews recounts his experiences on set with the stars.
‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ is expected to be released in late 2022.
Let me start with a big thank you to my agent, longtime friend and college roommate, Dr. Tim Nelson, who encouraged me to write this and worked with the Watonga Republican to publish it. The Republican has always had a special place in my heart as my father working for you is what brought us to Watonga when I was 18 months old.
My name is Curt Andrews and I am a 1971 graduate of Watonga High School. You may remember me from my portrayal of Chief Brown Bear in the school production of the musical “Little Mary Sunshine.” Or, maybe not. My role was greatly limited with Mr. Travis’ decision to cut out my singing parts. I was actually grateful he did it.
Ten years later I moved on to TV where, for a “Crime Stoppers” piece, I played the role of a dead person lying face down in a ditch. I did receive much praise for my performance, however I must have done such a good job portraying a dead person I stereotyped myself. It was the last of my TV offers.
Perhaps you are familiar with the book “Killers of the Flower Moon” by David Grann. In the early 1920s the Osage Indians in northeast Oklahoma, due to oil under their land, were the richest people on the face of the planet. They wore the finest clothes, had cooks as well as chauffeurs who drove the finest cars. If the car had a flat, or even just ran out of gas, it was said they might abandon it and just buy another.
Soon con men descended, trying to marry into the money and then systemically kill off their spouses and heirs by any means possible. There were shootings, stabbings, poisonings, fatal beatings, even a house blown up. The investigation resulted in the establishment now known as the FBI.
The plot was so intriguing none other than Martin Scorsese signed on to direct and put together a star-studded cast including Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, Brendan Fraser, John Lithgow, Lily Gladstone and me. In January of 2021 the Tulsa World ran an article on the filming and mentioned they were looking for “background performers.” I’m thinking it’s time I dusted off my acting chops and take my talents to the silver screen.
I submitted my info, including a mug shot, in January and didn’t hear anything back until March. At that time I was told I had been selected to play the part of a vagabond/hustler. My photo was rather pathetic looking. They asked us not to cut our hair or shave until our part of the shooting was completed. I saw a friend at the gym who told me, “I saw you walking to the gym the other day. You looked like a vagabond.” Was I getting into character or what? I spent a good part of the next six months explaining to acquaintances why I looked so unkept.
Shooting began the first week of April. I reported to a warehouse in Bartlesville where I was fitted for a costume and had several photos taken which were to be reviewed by the directors so as to put me in what they deemed to be appropriate scenes. I was called in the very first day of shooting where I was told I was to play the role of a moonshiner. What? Here I’d been getting into character as a vagabond/hustler and I had maybe an hour to transform into a moonshiner? Guess that’s show business.
Every day we were on we reported to costume, then to makeup and hair. Hair was fairly quick, as they wanted our hair to be long and shaggy. My beard was always sparse, but I feel it added to the bedraggled look. Cosmetics for vagabonds amounted to having “stage dirt” rubbed into our faces and hands. Then it was generally to a holding trailer while we awaited our call. There was always a lot of “hurry up and wait” involved.
The moonshiner scenes were shot on the land of Ladd Drummond, brother-in-law of the Pioneer Woman. The first moonshiner scene was the very first day of shooting. I doubted I’d even lay eyes on the star performers, but DiCaprio and De Niro were pretty much in the entire scene. My role? I was to load a wheelbarrow with firewood. They wanted me to be loading the entire scene, and it seemed at the time a fairly long scene. There I was, putting two or three logs in the wheelbarrow, stretching, putting in a few more logs, taking off my hat and wiping my brow, back to putting in logs. By the time we heard “cut” my wheelbarrow was loaded with more logs than a person could possibly haul. Then it was dump the wheelbarrow. Load the wheelbarrow. Dump the wheelbarrow. Load the wheelbarrow. All day long. People ask if I had any speaking parts. I tell them a true actor considers speech a crutch. When people see my work I don’t need to tell them, “I’m loading this wheelbarrow.” I want them to see that just through my actions.
People ask about the food. Those first two days there were only 14 or so background performers so we ate with the crew. Excellent buffet!! Steak. Crusted flounder. All the fixings and dessert. They even had food trucks where you could get sandwiches or drinks between meals. Days when there were more background performers we ate more modestly, usually Simple Simon’s pizza.
Two days later we shot a second moonshiner scene. In this one, in a couple of different shots, I’m shoulder-to-shoulder with DiCaprio and De Niro as we wait being called into action. We were sent an email telling us we were not to try to interact with the “talent.” I’m assuming that meant us interacting with Leo, Bob and that bunch. However, as we were preparing to shoot, a bloodhound not involved in the scene at that time was howling and yipping. DiCaprio says, “Get that dog out of here!” About that time a cow moos. I say, “What about the cow?” Leo thinks for a few seconds and says, “The cow can stay.” That was the extent of my interacting with the “talent.”
The background performer director told me I was fairly high-profile in the moonshiner scenes so after that I was mainly in crowd scenes. They didn’t want the same bum showing up in several scenes.
I was involved in maybe 10 days of shooting. I did take a short break for shoulder replacement surgery, but De Niro took off three weeks for an injured thigh. If he can do it, so can I. The show did go on.
It seemed like my role description changed with each scene, but I only had one slight change in costume. I went from being a moonshiner to being a vagabond/hustler to shady guy to unscrupulous grifter (like there’s such a thing as a scrupulous grifter) to villain.
The size of the production was enormous. The crew probably numbered 100 or more. One day when they were shooting a train station scene as well as a parade, I was told there were over 400 background performers. The parade featured a band, soldiers, Ku Klux Klan, Boy Scouts, the Salvation Army. They used 400 vintage cars and paid $400 for every day a particular car was used. Facades were built for storefronts in Pawhuska and Ralston to give them a 1920s look. Dirt was brought in to cover the streets. A train station was built, tracks were laid, and a train was brought in.
When in Pawhuska we staged in an old warehouse. We were supposed to stay put, but my wife and daughter wanted cinnamon rolls from the Pioneer Woman’s restaurant so I ventured off in costume. Sight seers were taking my picture and I did a selfie with a woman. I even signed a couple of autographs.
It wasn’t all glamor. There were some long days. Shooting was mainly in Pawhuska, but I was also involved in scenes in Fairfax and Ralston. There were days when call was at 5 a.m. or 5:30 and I had to get up at 2:30 to eat breakfast and get there on time. There were days I didn’t get home until 10 p.m. Shooting ended the later part of September.
I signed up not knowing we’d get paid, but we got a minimum of $100/day and everything after eight hours was $9.09 at time and a half. We had to be COVID tested within three days of any acting and if it didn’t work out that we were on set within that period we were paid a minimum of $20 to test. If they need a quick turnaround on the testing I had to drive to Bartlesville. Otherwise I could walk to a testing site. I ended up making a whopping $1,500, but it was $1,500 more than I expected and was a great experience.
True movie fans may be aware of the fact between Scorsese, DiCaprio, De Niro and me we have four Academy Awards. I’m predicting a Best Picture award for this one, maybe a Best Supporting actor award, and pretty sure a Best Vagabond/Moonshiner/Shad y Guy/Villain/ Grifter Award.
When will it be released? I’m not involved in those decisions. Everything I see says it’ll be in November. It was a joint venture between Paramount Pictures and Apple TV+. Word on the street is it’ll be released in theaters as well as streamed.