By Colleen Gundlach

The Martin Scorsese film “The Departed” won a Golden Globe award at the annual ceremony last month. While this type of event ordinarily graces the pages of People Magazine, it is also of interest to the readers of Norfolk Now because of the two long-time Norfolk residents who appear in the film.

Edie Hofstatter strolls on Haystack with film director Alfred Maysles.

When, in one scene, the audience sees actor Martin Sheen standing on the left side of a subway car, a closer look will reveal Edie Hofstatter and her husband Dave, of Greenwoods Road West in Norfolk, sitting to Sheen’s right. The pair had responded to an open casting call in Boston and landed one of their most exciting roles as movie extras, working with Leonardo DiCaprio as well. “I even got to chat individually with Sheen,” says Dave Hofstatter.

This was not the Hofstatters’ first film appearance. As a child growing up in Boston, Edie Hofstatter visited the Children’s Theatre in Boston where she dreamed of acting on the stage, took drama in high school, and then joined a community theater. A licensed occupational therapist by trade, Hofstatter also holds a master’s degree in counseling and is an emergency medical technician (EMT). She put her dream of acting on hold while raising her two children. “Life has a way of taking over,” she says.

A voice-over class and some courses at the New England Academy of Theater three years ago changed all that. Hofstatter soon had her name on an agent’s rolodex and the film offers began rolling in. She has an impressive list of Hollywood stars with whom she has worked, such as Tom Cruise when she was an extra for two days on the set of “War of the Worlds” (“I spoke with Tom briefly, and he even gave me a pair of disposable handwarmers which, of course, I still have”); and Drew Barrymore on “Fever Pitch.” “The back of my head is famous in that movie,” laughs Hofstatter, “it was great fun!”

For her work on “The Brave One” with Jodie Foster, Hofstatter received a Screen Actors’ Guild (SAG) union waiver. Normally, non-union actors are not hired for union movies. However, when a background actor with a specific skill is needed and a union actor cannot be found, a waiver is issued to a non-union person for that one film. Once an actor has three union waivers, he or she will be permitted to join the union. Hofstatter now has two such waivers.

Her medical background helped land her a part on the television series “Law and Order.” The episode required real-life EMTs and paramedics, a skill Hofstatter lists on her resume. Other appearances include a role in “Aquarium,” a short film by Rob Meyer, in which she played a “quirky mom” who drove her teenage boys around Boston in an orange Volkswagen.

One of the Hofstatters’ most interesting projects was filmed right in Norfolk, when they responded to a casting call for an internet commercial aimed at medical websites. The director was Guggenheim Fellow and 2001 Sundance Film Festival award-winner, Albert Maysles, who has been filming documentaries for the past 50 years. Best known for his non-fiction feature films, including “Grey Gardens” and “Soldiers of Music,” Maysles likes, according to his website, to “capture life as it unfolds, without scripts, sets or narration.” Accordingly, he hired Edie and Dave Hofstatter to be the subjects of his newest project — filmed in the couple’s living room.

Maysles arrived in Norfolk on January 10 with camera crew in tow. He sat down with the Hofstatters at their home while the crew filmed them in conversation. They discussed their own personal health issues and were asked “about our lifestyle, how we met, and how we help or sabotage each other in terms of eating and keeping healthy.”

The group then headed for Haystack Mountain where they photographed the couple walking their dog, and wrapped up with lunch at the Speckled Hen Pub. “He was really great to work with,” say both actors.

“Mr. Maysles was incredibly down-to-earth and friendly,” says Dave Hofstatter. “He spoke freely about films he’s done, is working on, and wants to do, but only if asked. He’s more interested in others than himself, which is a good attribute for a documentarian.”

In the future, Hofstatter plans to continue her work in films and hopes to do more television commercials. She recently submitted a resume for a small role in a film out of New York, and is always open to casting calls.

Hofstatter encourages anyone who is interested in doing background or “extra” acting to visit Web sites such a bostoncasting.com or craigslist.com for further information. “Maybe,” she says, “my story will help someone else to get inspired to go follow their dreams as well.”

Photo by David Hofstatter.