30 SECONDS: Randy Austin

With broad shoulders and a stocky figure, Port Allen resident Randy Austin looks like a cop. Maybe that’s why he landed a speaking role in the 2006 film Déjŕ vu as the cop who wouldn’t die.

With four bullet holes in his chest, “Denzel says to me, ‘We just can’t kill you, can we?’ and I answered, ‘No, I have to stick around

for the sequel,’” Austin says of his encounter with the star.

A martial arts expert, Austin caught the acting bug after a 1992 performance for Chuck Norris and the cast of Sidekicks. Since then he has appeared in some blockbusters, Tempted starring Burt Reynolds, The Badge with Billy Bob Thornton and the TV series Thief.

Why have you waiting this long to begin your acting career?

I took some acting classes and worked at a cabaret theatre so I would know what I was doing. I also had to correct my speaking. I had that bayou sound and that’s OK for a film about New Orleans, but if it’s something about Boston you don’t want that Cajun twang.

How much were you paid?

For eight days of work, almost $10,000. I took my wife on a trip to Maui, Hawaii.

Has appearing in Déjŕ vu affected your career?

It hasn’t yet. My goal is to do this as a fulltime career. I would be happy if I could make as much as I make at my current job. I want to be continually working, be constantly out there, have people recognize my face, but the name always be on the tip of your tongue.

Do you get star struck around celebrities?

No butterflies. I’ve never been nervous or a stargazer. The director and cast were extremely cool to work with. Tony [Scott, the director] treats everyone the same, from Denzel all the way down the line.

Does living in Louisiana inhibit you?

It did for a while because for quite a few years there was nothing here. But with the new incentives for the film business, it can’t do

anything but get better.

How do you feel when you see yourself on screen?

That’s the strange part about it. I don’t like to see myself. I like to do the work, but I don’t want to see it.

You have been cast as a cop before. Are you already being typecast?

There are not really a lot of stocky people in film, so I guess I fit the part. But if they want to keep hiring me as a cop, I’ll keep

working as a cop.