Ask

Gene did.

Gene loved to play tennis … he played it a lot … and often with a friend who shared the same first name … besides playing tennis Gene was also a very good actor … so good in fact that in just a few years he’d racked up 3 Oscar nominations for acting … all for dramatic roles in very serious movies … but Gene was itching to try something different … so when his tennis buddy told him about the new movie he was writing and starring in Gene asked if their might be a role for him … well his friend referred him to the director … and the director said sure .. but there’s no money it and you’ll play a blind man in a hut. Gene said that’s great, did the scene and even improvised a few lines. Well the comedy movie opened and became a massive hit … people still quote lines from it today … and while most people remember the movie and even the scene they don’t typically realize it is Oscar winner Gene Hackman playing Harold the blindman serving the soup and lighting the cigars with the monster.

Today, 45 years later that scene is still considered one of the greatest film cameos of all time … and led Gene to getting cast in many roles he might never have otherwise gotten .. and all because he asked his tennis buddy Gene Wilder for a role in Young Frankenstein …

The Blindman in Young Frankenstein is a great idea because stretching yourself to try something new might just Harold a great change in your career.