Work and play intersected recently for a NASA engineer who moonlights as an actor when he was offered a speaking part in the new biopic about Apollo astronaut Neil Armstrong, ‘First Man.’
Bill Tomek, an aerospace engineer at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, spends his days working on launch vehicle development and supersonic flight. He has worked on many projects during his career, including Constellation, Ares and Space Launch System. Lately, he’s been working on improving the fuel efficiency of aircraft and over-land supersonic flight research. Tomek has no background in the dramatic arts and only recently stumbled upon his new-found hobby.
“When my daughter was 11 she had more stage time than me,” he joked. “I’ve always been a movie buff, but just in the last few years I got into doing background and extra work and I’ve been fortunate to be in some cool shows.”
On a whim in 2015, Tomek responded to an advertisement for extras in a short educational film being produced in Williamsburg. After that experience and talking to other extras on the set, he was hooked.
“The group of people who do extra and background work is not that large, so often you see the same folks at different productions,” he said. “We keep in touch and share production news, and its opened up other opportunities. You don’t do it for the money; they’re the nicest group of people and I love the whole filmmaking process. It’s fascinating to me.”
Last year Tomek applied to the ‘First Man’ casting call for extras who could fit the “mission control type.” When he heard back from the casting agent that he had a speaking role, he was excited.
“Typically, extras don’t have opportunity to speak, so I about fell out of my chair,” he said. “I was grateful.”
Tomek was on set in Atlanta for two days in December 2017, filming from 11 a.m. and wrapping at 6 a.m. the following day. He has five lines in the movie. He plays Donald Babbitt, who worked for North American Aviation as the pad leader and lead test conductor for the Apollo 1 plugs out test where Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee were tragically killed on the ground.
“The movie demonstrates that it’s not easy; this is really hard. It shows the sacrifice of the more than 400,000 people who were part of the Apollo program and made this dream happen,” Tomek said.
Working at Langley, NASA’s first center and where employees and test facilities played a major role in the Apollo program, Tomek said he felt a sense of pride being part of the film.
“At Langley, we’re proud of our history,” he said. “And Neil Armstrong is a hero of mine. I can remember in seventh grade doing a book report on him and I even met him leaving a football game once, and Buzz Aldrin at a book signing.” Tomek said. “So, it was an amazing experience to be part of the film, and I feel very fortunate.”
Tomek can also be seen in several TV and streaming shows including “TURN: Washington’s Spies,” “House of Cards,” “Homeland,” and “Ozark.”
“It’s a hobby that I enjoy. It’s fun to play another character, but you’re working with other people on a team,” he said “Just like my NASA job, making a movie is a team effort. I enjoy both and I’ve learned a lot. It’s a lot of fun.”