‘Five-O’ casting call draws 2,000
By Craig Gima, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Sunday 8/29/10
The only time Joshua Manuma was on television was as a high school football player for the Mililani Trojans.
“On OC 16,” he said.
But if he has the right look and is available when the call comes, Manuma could be a face in the crowd as an extra in the upcoming “Hawaii Five-0″ television series on CBS.
Manuma was one of about 2,000 people who showed up yesterday for an open casting call for extras at Aloha Tower Marketplace.
It would be cool, he said, to be in a murder scene, or maybe hanging out in the background at the beach.
“Hawaii Five-0″ casting director Rachel Sutton said she needs to find 200 to 400 extras for each episode — “all shapes, colors, sizes, ages, ethnicities.”
Extras help “paint the picture” of the scene, she said, be it at the beach, a Waikiki hotel or downtown bank.
Because the show is set in Hawaii, even people in the background need to reflect the state’s ethnic diversity, she said.
Yesterday’s open casting call drew a variety of people, from lawyers to students to workers from the Star of Honolulu dinner cruise who stopped by before reporting to work.
Each filled out a form and had their picture taken to be filed away until someone with their look is needed.
If they are called, they will get $65 to $200 a day, plus lunch.
Elyssa Turnbull, 12, her sister Analei, 7, and mother Kim have already been filmed in Episode 2 during a scene at a football stadium in which they had to hide when bullets started flying.
Elyssa said she has wanted to be an actress since age 10 and has gotten roles in local projects.
She said an ideal extra role would be “a scene without too many other extras, so you can be seen.”
Veteran local extra Alec Cooke, a big-wave surfer and promoter, has been in more television shows and movies than he can remember.
Cooke, who also goes by the name Ace Cool, had speaking roles in “Jake and the Fatman,” in which he played a dockworker, and the television miniseries “And the Sea Will Tell,” in which he played a “hippie drug dude.”
With his blond hair, rubber slippers, shorts and T-shirt, Cooke apparently has a look that casting directors remember.
“Ace Cool, where have you been?” Sutton exclaimed when she saw him. “I’ve been trying to track you down for days.”
Cooke said he got his start in the original “Hawaii Five-0″ series when he and other classmates at Punahou School appeared as extras in several episodes. A classmate, he said, even got a speaking role as a kidnapping victim.
Mos Def and Talib Kweli reuniting in Hawaii;
Shoppers selected wishes hanging on the Lokahi Christmas tree at Aloha Tower Marketplace and helped to make them come true by donating toys and more to the redemption box located in the center atrium. 
Festivities during the holiday season included hula performances, and appearances by Rudolf and Santa!
Hawaiian Times Square at Aloha Tower Marketplace
