Grinnellian Talks On-Set Experience in ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’
In the Oscar-nominated film Killers of the Flower Moon, movie enthusiasts can watch out for Josh Waddell ’97, who blends seamlessly into the world of 1920s Osage County, Oklahoma.
The film, directed by Hollywood giant Martin Scorsese, stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, and Robert DeNiro. The story is based on the Osage “Reign of Terror,” a series of murders within the Osage Nation following their discovery of valuable oil on tribal land. The historical tragedy incited an investigation from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and uncovered a conspiracy to steal the Osage’s newfound wealth.
Waddell, whose friend notified him of the film’s virtual casting call for background actors, submitted a selfie for consideration in the major motion picture. The movie production was to be filmed in Osage County, 45 minutes from Waddell’s home in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
The timing was perfect – Waddell had recently transitioned into a full-time career as an artist, which allowed him to work with the film’s production schedule.
A self-described “movie buff” and Martin Scorsese fan, Waddell was excited to observe the behind-the-scenes of a grand movie production. “I wanted to see and be a part of the whole experience. I didn’t care if I saw myself on screen, but then I made the trailer.”
Within the first 5 minutes of the movie, Waddell hops off a train alongside a greedy Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio), who returns home to Fairfax after serving in World War I.
“I did a silent rehearsal of the train scene with Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, the second director, and about two to three other extras,” Waddell recalls. “I got to see them working, acting, all of that stuff. DiCaprio was actually in character when he was on set for the most part. After that rehearsal, I got to talk to him for a minute while we were leaving.”
During his 25 days working as a “featured background actor,” Waddell embodied various different characters, including “man in bar,” “oil worker,” “fireman,” “shady character,” “man in wagon,” “townspeople,” and “Fairfax resident.”
“A lot of the costumes were actually used from Titanic’s background characters,” says Waddell. “I wore a vest with a Titanic pin on the inside.” At call time, Waddell would visit the makeup and hair departments for some touchups. “They would put a black [charcoal-like] substance on my hands and face and put some Vaseline to crease my hair so I could look a little scruffier.”
The producers also asked Waddell to grow out his beard to add to the look of the time period.
“I had a different look almost every time unless we were doing a continuation of the same scene.” Eventually, Waddell would shave his beard for the production so that he could appear alongside Robert DeNiro, who plays the powerful, murderous William King Hale in the film.
“To see the whole logistics, the operation, it was pretty amazing. There was a race scene with all these old motor cars and 300 extras, with a drone the size of a Honda flying over and doing the aerial shots.” Waddell also enjoyed eating fancy seafood, crab legs, and smoothies while on set.
But he remarked that while the experience was awe-inducing, it was also intense. Often, Waddell would work on set for 14 hours. “Scorsese is such a sticker for details,” he recalls. “The filmmakers have what they would call ‘the magic hour,’ where the sun is perfect in the sky. We’d have a four o’clock call time, be in and out of wardrobe by 5, and start filming around dusk.”
In between scenes, Waddell struck up a conversation with Jesse Plemons (Breaking Bad, Friday Night Lights). “I’m always trying to work in the Grinnell thing,” Waddell says. “He had crutches, and so I asked, ‘What did you do with your knees?’ He said he had knee surgery, and I mentioned I had done three knee surgeries since I played football at a small college in Iowa. He said, ‘Oh! Where did you go?’ I said, ‘Grinnell College!’ and we talked about our knees for a bit.”
Most strikingly, however, Waddell made connections with several Osage Natives, many of whom were consulting on the film’s production. “One of the really cool things, that I’m really glad about this whole experience, is that this story was told. I grew up in Oklahoma and took Oklahoma history as a requirement. But I never learned about the [1921] Tulsa race massacre and never heard anything about the ‘Reign of Terror.’ In between [shooting], I got to talk to all the Osage who have heard the stories and experiences of their grandparents and great-grandparents.”
Once the film was finalized, Scorsese invited the cast, crew, and extras for a special screening of the movie. “They made the screening into a red-carpet event,” describes Waddell. “There was a photo backdrop, and local news was there. I got to see the people I was on set with and get talk to everybody at the screening. It was pretty neat.”
He attended the screening with his wife, Kathy Hansen Waddell ’96, and his 15-year-old son. “I was sitting in between my wife and my son and I’m elbowing them the whole time [during the movie], saying ‘Look, it’s me!’ It was so fun.”
With the filming of Killers of the Flower Moon in Oklahoma, more film and television projects began popping up, including Reservation Dogs (2021) and Tulsa King (2022). Waddell, who loved his experience on the critically acclaimed film, pounced on the chance to pursue more background acting gigs.
“I did a couple of days on Tulsa King with Sylvester Stallone as a background actor. But my favorite was working on Reservation Dogs. I have some friends who are Indigenous who were like, ‘Hey, you should do this project. There might be a role for a big white guy.’ I was like, ‘Sure, I can do that.’”
Waddell can be spotted chanting with a group of other background actors in season 2, episode 8 of Reservation Dogs. “They also had my art in the background in the season 2 finale,” beams Waddell, whose art uses repurposed materials to create robots, ray guns, and other sculptures in the sci-fi world. Waddell is a huge fan of the show, especially since he grew up in rural Oklahoma and “went to high school with people very reminiscent of the characters.”
In thinking back to his time on Killers of the Flower Moon, Waddell admits, “This experience is nothing I never really saw myself doing. But it was such an amazing experience, and I had only really cared about being in Star Wars or anything directed by Scorsese. I’m glad the movie is bringing some attention to some of the things the Osage experienced, too.”
About Josh Waddell ’97
Josh Waddell was a sociology major during his time at Grinnell. After working in higher education for 25 years, he transitioned into a full-time art career, which is now approaching five years (follow his Instagram, @3.bulls.upcycling). At Grinnell, he played football, volunteered at a local church, and was “technically” on student council. Recently, he celebrated his 25th anniversary with his Grinnellian sweetheart, Kathy Hansen Waddell ’96. He is a huge fan of Star Wars and science fiction, but enjoys comedy and drama, too. His favorite directors are Stanley Kubrick, Ridley Scott, and of course, Martin Scorsese.