An actor's work in cinema

There was a guy I was acquainted with over twenty years ago. He's now in his 80s and has apparently moved away. I knew he was involved in community theater but I only recently learned he had bit parts in two movies that were filmed here. Now I've bought DVDs of both films, Jack Nicholson's Drive, He Said (1971) and How To Beat the High Cost of Living (1980).

Both had scenes filmed within a few blocks of where I'm sitting so they're of local interest. But how would the actor feel about some guy he probably has no memory of and will almost certainly never meet again seeking out his body of work in cinema? Would he be flattered or slightly creeped out?

I grew up with brothers and a sister who were all musicians. I had no interest in music but I was forced to attend every concert. It was cruelly drilled into me that had some sort of obligation to support people I knew.

I had this friend whose mental health was never good. He was a drug user since junior high, so he had been at it longer and was much more casual about it that his nouveau-druggie college-age friends he was sharing a house with. He took an acting class in community college. His mother, another non-druggie friend and I were the only ones who went to his class play. He was hurt that none of the drug addicts attended or even made an effort to come up with a plausible excuse. He briefly questioned his lifestyle choice.

Show interest in the work of people who haven't done that much. They'll appreciate it more and it's not much work for you.