Macon local spots himself in ‘Superman’

Tripp Spears was 39 years old when he went to bed the night of October 27, 2024. 

He woke up the next morning … and he was 40.

“It wasn’t a midlife crisis,’’ he said. “I just told myself I wanted to try something different.’’

He didn’t keep a bucket list with aspirations to write the great American novel, climb Mount Everest or run with the bulls at Pamplona.

Spears was happily married, working for his family’s business and performing as a singer/songwriter in his hometown of Macon.

He simply announced his intentions of appearing in a movie. He wasn’t looking for top billing. He had no desire to be a
leading man. He was content to blend in as a face in the crowd on the silver screen.

He set the bar low. After all, there is no Academy Award for “Best Background Actor.’’’

“I wanted to be an extra,’’ he said. “I didn’t have to say anything. I just wanted to experience it, to see behind the scenes and make connections.’’

Growing up, he had no acting experience in school plays or community theater. He did, however, make an appearance on national television.

“I always took the music route,’’ he said. “I didn’t think I would be doing this. I wasn’t trying to get famous. I tried to do that in my 20s.’’

In 2005, he appeared on the MTV series, “Room Raiders,’’ where three contestants would have their rooms inspected to earn a romantic date. His episode had a twist. It involved a songwriting contest, and he emerged the winner. 

He later joined a band called Rookie of the Year and went on tour. (Now, he sometimes sings his MTV song, “Sideswept by Jealousy” when he performs at local clubs and restaurants.)

Last spring, he noticed a casting ad for the new Superman movie. Filmmakers had transformed Macon’s historic Terminal Station into the setting for the Daily Planet newsroom, where Clark Kent worked as a newspaper reporter.

Spears applied to be an extra and submitted a headshot photograph. He assumed he might land a part in scenes at the Terminal Station. Instead, he was asked for his measurements and clothes sizes and was sent to Atlanta to be outfitted as a Boravian soldier.

“I never thought I would be in a DC (Detective Comics) film, let alone a Superman movie,’’ Spears said.

Although he is a Superman fan, he has a cat named “Batman.’’

His part in the movie required spending “long days in the sand.’’ Battle scenes for the movie were filmed at Atlanta Sand and Supply Co.’s mining operation in Crawford County. 

The corporate offices of Atlanta Sand are located on Peake Road in Macon. The terrain of the sand mines have been used as backdrops for other action-adventure movies, including “Black Adam,” starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and “Black Panther 2,” featuring the late Chadwick Boseman.

Spears took his minor role seriously. For four days, he got up at 4 a.m. and arrived early on the set, dressed in full army fatigues with a vest and helmet. Some of the other extras had difficulty with the heat and keeping up with the rigorous physical demands of running in the sand.

He did have an opportunity to meet director James Gunn. Spears gave him a sticker depicting him riding a tiger from a video game called “Mystical Ninja.” 

“It was my way of self-promotion,’’ Spears said. “I used it on one of my record singles. My name wasn’t on it, just my image. I told him my name.’’

Spears and his wife, Emily, later saw Gunn one evening in downtown Macon. The director was having dinner at Oliver’s Corner Bistro with some of the movie crew,  including actor Nathan Fillion, who played the Green Lantern, and Isabela Merced, who was Hawkgirl.

For months, Spears had to wait patiently for the movie to be released.

“I told a lot of people about it because I was excited,’’ he said. “When the trailer came out, I watched it religiously. I was trying to pinpoint the moment and find a glimpse of myself in the scene. I had to wait for the movie to see if I was in it.’’

When “Superman” opened at Macon’s Amstar Theatres on Friday, July 11, Spears went to the 9:15 p.m. showing with his wife and about a dozen friends. 

Although he had high hopes, he still had to brace himself for disappointment if his part somehow ended up on the cutting room floor. In the theater, he described his scene as fast and chaotic, with 150-200 soldiers.

“One of my friends said, ‘Oh, there’s Tripp,’ but he was just joking around,’’ Spears said. “I think that was me standing by one of the vehicles, holding the gun the same way I held it. And my mom said the beard looks like it’s me. If you zoom in, it’s blurry, but she said it’s me.’’

His networking has paid off. On the final day, he was scanned by more than 200 cameras for use in 3D character modeling. He later  signed with a talent agency.

Since then, he has appeared as an extra on HBO’s upcoming series “DSL St. Louis,’’ with Jason Bateman and David Harbour, and in the Peacock TV series “The Good Daughter,’’ starring Rose
Byrne and Meghann Fahy.

He also received work as a patron in a bar in the Apple TV series  “Cape Fear,’’ with Amy Adams and Patrick Wilson. He is the father of a middle school student in a spelling bee in comedian Nate Bargatze’s film debut in “The Breadwinner.”  

You can soon catch his face in a cafe scene in “It’s Not Like That,” starring Scott Foley, on Amazon Prime. His first speaking part — he utters the words “Yes, sir!” — is in a mobile-friendly drama and TV app called “ReelShort.’’

“There’s not a lot of money in it,’’ he said, laughing. “It’s the bragging rights, to be able to say, ‘Hey, I’m in that!!!’’’