JoAnn (Jodi) Dawson, AG '79, '81M, has driven a horse and buggy for Oprah Winfrey, sold newspapers to Madeleine Stowe and chatted up Bruce Willis about the Cowtown Rodeo in New Jersey.

It's all been in a day's-and night's-work for theNorth East, Md., resident, who moonlights as an actor and horse wrangler for movies and television productions shot in the Philadelphia-Baltimore area. While she may not be a household name yet, Dawson has had her fair share of time on the big screen. Her credits include Beloved, For Richer-For Poorer, Fallen and 12 Monkeys. She juggles her acting work with running two riding stables with her husband, Ted, BE '77, and raising two sons, ages 13 and 10.

"It's kind of a sideline, a nice sideline," says Dawson, who also has sold a screenplay to Motown Productions. "I've been in community theatre productions, and I really loved that. I thought maybe I could try and get paid for this acting once in a while. It's something I have a talent for."

While taking commercial acting classes in 1991, Dawson got her first break when she was chosen to be a stand-in (because of her height) for a child actor in Rocky V. Soon, the work began to flow. In addition to her film work, her resume includes parts in such television shows as Top Cops, Unsolved Mysteries and PBS' Lincoln & The War Within, industrial films for DuPont, Wawa and W.L. Gore, commercial work for Philadelphia Gas Works, Lincoln Town Car and Giant Food Store, and even a stint as a magician's assistant on a national tour.

"I can do different parts and that's important. You need to be versatile," Dawson says. "My biggest problem is my height-I'm only 5 feet tall. That knocks me out of a lot of things."

After several years of being an extra, Dawson's big break came in 1995 when she landed the role as a clerk at an airport who sells a newspaper to Stowe's character in 12 Monkeys. During the shoot, she got to know director Terry Gilliam, an avid equestrian. Gilliam would visit Wilmington's Carousel Farms, which Dawson and her husband managed for 13 years, to ride every weekend.

Twelve Monkeys also starred Willis, a native of nearby Penns Grove, N.J., and Brad Pitt, but Dawson says she wasn't nervous about being around such major actors. "I wasn't nervous because I was just an extra," she says. "It's always neat to see all the stars. But, the more you see them and the more you get to know them, you find they're just regular people."

The camera also works its magic in creating the illusion that actors are larger than life. "Brad Pitt really does look completely different in person than he does in the movies," Dawson says. "He just looks like a regular guy, but, when you see him in the movies, you find yourself falling out of your chair because the camera just loves him."

One of Dawson's most satisfying experiences was on the set of Beloved, which was shot in the Philadelphia area for about six months. Hired as a horse wrangler and an extra, Dawson was on location in New Castle, Del., Lancaster, Pa., and Philadelphia almost daily from late June to mid-December of 1997. Ten of her calmest horses were selected for the film by a California-based company called Birds and Animals Unlimited, which had several tests of a horse's temperament such as opening an umbrella in its face.

"I wore several hats. It was steady work and it was neat being close to home," Dawson says.

By the time Beloved premiered in the fall of 1998, Dawson had moved on to her next role-her largest to date-in a film called Sixth Sense, which is scheduled to be released in September.

Sixth Sense is a supernatural thriller starring Willis as a psychologist treating a troubled young boy who sees and speaks to the dead. Dawson plays a teacher who died in a fire. Needing a special prosthetic head to make her look like a burn victim, she was flown to Los Angeles to be fitted at the Stan Winston Studio. She received the full star treatment, including first-class airfare, a limousine driver and plush accommodations at the Universal City Hilton.

Life as an extra is better than most people might think. For one thing, Dawson says, everyone involved in the shoot is invited to the wrap parties and the movie's local premiere. And, while the pay may not be as great as the stars', extras can always count on eating well. Meals are usually served on a buffet laden with a selection of main dishes and desserts, and, depending on a movie's budget, they can get pretty deluxe. For Rocky V, the extras got to chow down on filet mignon and lobster tail, while Mannequin II served up burgers.

"You sit around every day waiting for a few minutes of work, but the great thing about movie sets is the food. It's a fabulous spread every day," Dawson says.

Although she says she enjoys her time before the cameras, Dawson also has an interest in writing for the screen. Her first script is an adaptation of a novel set against the backdrop of the civil rights struggle. She is finishing a second-an original family drama set on a farm-and she is seeking a publisher for a children's book.

In addition to Tailwinds Farm, a 52-acre spread with a bed and breakfast, riding stables and trails purchased this year by the Dawsons, the couple also manages Fair Hill Stables, a state-owned riding facility in Fair Hill, Md. Dawson, who grew up on the Stafford dairy farm in Newark, was an animal science and agricultural education major at Delaware. She says she enjoys being able to combine the peace and quiet of rural life with the excitement of movie making.

"I kind of have the best of both worlds," she says. "The best thing about having the farm is I get to be home with my kids. I love that."

-Robert DiGiacomo, AS '88