How an unknown actor scored a role in 'Joker 2' after a chance encounter with Todd Phillips at the grocery store

• Theodore Martello landed a role in "Joker: Folie à Deux" after meeting Todd Phillips at a grocery store.
• He appears in a scene with Lady Gaga's Lee, who throws a trash can through a display window.

If there's one thing Theodore Martello figured out in his growing career as an actor, it's that you can't be afraid to take a chance.

That's exactly what he did one afternoon last year when he happened to be at the Bristol Farms grocery store in West Hollywood at the same time as director Todd Phillips.

"I noticed Todd in the line section I was on," Martello told Business Insider. "I grew up watching 'Old School' and 'Road Trip.' I'm a big fan."

So he headed over, introduced himself, told Phillips that he was an actor, and struck up a conversation. After a cordial chat, which included Phillips recommending a good wine to the actor, Martello left the store.

But he wasn't done. The ambitious 27-year-old, sensing a major career moment at hand, went back to his car, grabbed one of his headshots, and waited patiently for Phillips to come out of the store.

"'What's going on here?'" Martello recalled Phillips asking as the director noticed him clutching his headshot.

"I was like, 'Hey man, here's my headshot, you can rip it up if you want, but I would be honored to work with you,'" Martello told the director.

Martello, whose previous credits include the short films "INFINITY!" and "Something I Wanted More Of," and being a stand-in for Nick Jonas on "Jumanji: The Next Level," assumed he would never hear from Phillips again.

Then, a few weeks later, he got a call from Phillips' assistant: the director wanted him to read for a small role in his next movie, "Joker: Folie à Deux."

Shooting the scene for the much-anticipated sequel, in which Joaquin Phoenix plays the iconic DC Comics villain, needed to be done in less than a month. After getting himself on tape reading a few lines, Martello was told he got the job. Weeks later, he was on set in downtown Los Angeles, which doubled as a New York City street for his scene.

Once he got there he learned he'd be doing his scene with Lady Gaga, who stars in the movie as Joker's love interest Lee. Martello would be playing a late-1970s Wall Street guy, sporting a suit with slicked back hair. In the scene, he's standing by a storefront of TV sets next to Gaga. They watch Phoenix as Joker on the TV screens until Gaga's Lee character suddenly throws a trash can into the display window. Martello's character is in shock as Lee moves away the broken glass, grabs a TV set, and casually walks away.

The scene was filmed over two days (Martello even got a trailer). Day one was wardrobe fitting, and the second day was shooting alongside Gaga. He even got to engage in a little small talk with the 13-time Grammy winner.

"Me and the other Wall Street guy in the scene, we were bartenders at the time we shot the scene. Gaga mentioned to us there was a time when she only dated bartenders," he said. "So we were joking around. She was so nice and genuine."

Phillips also recognized Martello.

"He'd point and go, 'That's my boy.' He was making me comfortable," Martello said. "There were a few people who were like, 'So, you're the lucky one.'"

Gaga, now in her wardrobe for the scene, spent a couple of hours rehearsing with the stunt coordinator, making sure she knew where to throw the trash can so the window would shatter just right.

Meanwhile, Martello said Phillips was preparing to direct the shot from an unusual location.

"He likes to see what the camera is seeing, so he was covered in trash bags," Martell said, referring to the row of trash bags that are on the edge of the sidewalk in the scene. "He was lying in the bottom, hidden. He's like Tarantino, he gets right in there, and the props and art department pretty much hid him in the shot."

Though the movie has so far been a critical and commerical flop, bringing in under $40 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend (its budget was around $200 million), Martello couldn't have been happier watching it Friday.

He'd already been thrilled that his scene was included in the trailer, but he was elated to see he also got a line in the final version of the film.

"I have a line; it's very faint; you can tell it angers Lee," he said. It's what causes her to snap and throw the trash can through the window. It's very cool seeing your face that large standing next to Gaga."

After filming, Martello contacted Phillips to thank him for casting him and to remind him that he's always available for another opportunity. Now, with "Joker: Folie à Deux" on his resume, he said he's begun landing better auditions.

"Showing your face and getting out there is key," he said when asked what advice he'd give to aspiring actors. "You can't get cast just being in your room and sending out self-tapes. You get cast by going to meet and greets and industry nights and acting classes. You just have to get out there."

And maybe always have your headshot handy in your car. You never know.