Atlanta, Texas, resident Jewell Williams never imagined appearing on the big screen, but a chance to work as an extra in the Oliver Stone film “W.” changed all that.

Williams, a bilateral amputee who lost his legs in a work accident, was exactly what the casting crew was looking for when the President George W. Bush biopic was filmed in Shreveport.

Williams portrayed an injured Iraq war veteran in a scene where Bush, played by Josh Brolin, visits U.S. soldiers recuperating at a hospital.

The crew invited Williams to spend a few days in Shreveport working on the film.

“They had us go through the wardrobe change and through makeup and all this stuff. It was new to me. I had never done anything like that before,” said Williams.

From there, he was on the set and lying in a hospital bed, wearing red military wind pants and a black veterans T-shirt. In the scene, Bush addresses Williams’ character about getting healthier and the availability of new prosthetic legs.

Williams is not an actor and admitted he was nervous, but the film crew guided him to act as if he were being awakened to talk with the president.

“I tried my best to do it the way he (Stone) wanted me to,” said Williams.

He said the short scene was shot about four or five times from different angles.

“I got to meet the director Oliver Stone ... he talked to me for a little bit, but he was kind of busy. He was moving around pretty fast,” recalled Williams.

The set itself was an old hospital in Shreveport.

“It seemed like they turned everything on just for that filming day,” he said.

Though Williams had the chance to be in this film, he doesn’t expect to make acting a career.

He did meet a few members of the military who were extras elsewhere.

“And a lot of them had already had parts in other movies. One guy I talked to he had just got done doing a disaster movie,” Williams said.

Stone’s film played in Texarkana for a few weeks, and so far it’s grossed about $18.5 million.

Critics gave “W.” mixed reviews, but the public has given the film 7 out of 10 stars at movie Website imdb.com.

On the Net: www.wthefilm.com.