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Hollywood Shuffle: the art of the background artist

Fort Wayne’s Kelron Mixon pursues his acting goals in Tinseltown

By Edward G. Adams

Fort Wayne Reader

2005-06-13

Kelron Mixon. Fort Wayne Native. Actor. Rapper. Best friends with Jamie Foxx. Okay, maybe he’s not best friends with the Oscar winner but he did meet the actor after moving to Hollywood to pursue his dreams for stardom. In town for a short sabbatical from LA, Mixon found time to chat with Fort Wayne Reader.

FWR: So when did you move to LA?
MIXON: I moved August 30th of last year. I live in the city of Englewood, around the corner from Great Western Forum, where the Lakers used to play.

FWR: What was the first thing you noticed, other than the smog, when you got off the plane?
MIXON: The population. Man, LA is so overpopulated. It’s crazy.

FWR: And your first celebrity spotting?
MIXON: Jay Leno on my second day. He was out doing Jay Walking, that little segment from his show. My cousin and I were riding around. I got out of the car, when up to him and asked for an autograph. I told him I just moved from Indiana and he said, ‘Great. Welcome to
LA.’ That was the first celebrity.

FWR: How big was his chin?
MIXON: The thing about Jay, he’s shorter than he looks on T.V. but Jay’s chin is huge. He looks like…The Chin.

FWR: You’ve had some small, background roles since you’ve moved out there. Do you even consider them roles?
MIXON: We are background artists. I learned that’s the terminology we are suppose to use.
FWR: Instead of calling yourselves “wallpaper,” you call yourselves background artists?
MIXON: Yes we do. [Laughter]. Actually, it’s easier to get a job [as a background artist] than a regular job.

FWR: What movies should we look for you in…somewhere in the background?
MIXON: I’m in a crowd scene during the football game in The Longest Yard with Adam Sandler. I’m also in Jarheads with Jamie Fox and directed by Sam Mendes, who also directed American Beauty and Road To Perdition.


FWR: Does Jamie Fox have a presence when he’s just standing around doing nothing?
MIXON: He does. He has this whole aura about him. He just gives off a good vibe, a real down to earth cat. He jokes around the set, tries to make everybody feel comfortable. He actually motivated us during a boot camp scene because we are freezing cold. It didn’t really help too much, but he tried to keep us motivated?

FWR: Did you have time to talk to him?
MIXON: In an airplane scene, I was sitting directly in front of him. And that’s when everybody had a chance to talk to him and ask him questions.

FWR: Did you ask him anything about “The Wanda” days back from “In Living Color.”
MIXON: You know he said if this doesn’t work out, he could go back to doing “In Living Color.” Then I turned around and asked him ‘You cant still do Wanda, can you?’ He said, ‘I can if I had to.’ That cracked everybody up.

FWR: And how much did you get paid?
MIXON: A background artist never reveals how much he gets paid?

FWR: So that’s a nice way of saying it’s none of my business.
MIXON: Oh no, I would never say that to you [with the tape recorder on].

FWR: Any bad celebrity experiences?
MIXON: The only semi-bad celebrity experience I had was on the set of this film called Akeelah And The Bee starring Lawrence Fishborne and Angela Bassett. This guy had a cell-phone out and Lawrence thought it was a camera. Lawrence kinda got upset about it. He yelled, ‘Put Your Camera Away, Man!’

FWR: Are saying Morpheus is a punk?
MIXON: No, you said that man. You said that.

FWR: Let’s get to the real question…how many porn stars have you met?
MIXON: [Laughs]. Actually it’s quite possible that I’ve met some and didn’t know it. I haven’t been to the San Fernando Valley [where most porn is shot].


FWR: How would you describe LA to someone who has only lived in FW?
MIXON: LA is definitely a lot faster paced. You have to just jump right in. Also, since I have been living there, it’s not a place where I would want to raise my family. I can understand how a lot of celebrities choose not to live there.


FWR: What are you doing while you’re in town?
MIXON: As of right now, I’m making preparations for Underground Coalition’s compilation album that’s about to drop which is a collective of rap groups that I work with. We have a CD coming out very shortly. Also to work on a solo CD. The Underground Coalition consists Roleo and EDS, the 219 Bounty Hunters, Andromeda, Sub-Surface, Big World and myself, Weatherman.