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Gabriel Byrne, Nathan Lane and Frances Conroy to Film in Williamsburg

By Serena Dai | July 2, 2014 5:38pm
 Actor Nathan Lane is seen here at the "2013 Tony Awards: The Meet The Nominees Press Junket" at the Millenium Hilton on May 1, 2013. He will be in "No Pay, Nudity," which is filming in Williamsburg.
Actor Nathan Lane is seen here at the "2013 Tony Awards: The Meet The Nominees Press Junket" at the Millenium Hilton on May 1, 2013. He will be in "No Pay, Nudity," which is filming in Williamsburg.
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Steven Vlasic/Getty Images

WILLIAMSBURG — Don't be surprised if you see Gabriel Byrne, Nathan Lane and Frances Conroy  strolling through the neighborhood Thursday.

The actors are starring in independent film "No Pay, Nudity," which is shooting on Kent Avenue near S. 2nd Street Thursday, according to a flyer.

Despite the name of the film, there will be no nudity, said Rafael Rivera, a location manager for the film.

"No Pay, Nudity" refers to an actor's joke about work that doesn't pay and requires nudity.

It's the directorial debut of Lee Wilkof, a frequent Broadway and TV actor who starred in the original "Little Shop of Horrors."

The film will be shot all across New York, including on Grand Street in Williamsburg for a couple of weeks in the future, Rivera said. Williamsburg streets will largely be used as background for the actors' homes, he said.

The film stars Byrne, known for movies like "The Usual Suspects" and "Miller's Crossing," as Lester Rosenthal, an actor who once had some success. Out of work and depressed, he starts spending time with his old actor friends, played by Lane, Conroy and Boyd Gaines.

They band together in hopes of reviving an old Actors Equity lounge, a now-defunct meeting place used for casting calls and auditions where many friendships were formed, Rivera said.

The script was written by Ethan Sandler, an actor, writer and producer who worked on the sitcom "Whitney."

Wilkof came up with the story, which also stars Tony-Award winner Donna Murphy, when he was in a "dark period" where he struggled with not working, he told the Hollywood Reporter.

In a Kickstarter video raising money for the project, Wilkof said that it intended to portray the true life of actors. The project ultimately didn't meet its $450,000 goal on Kickstarter but is moving forward to filming.