Like most New Yorkers, I grumble when a production assistant tells me that I can’t cross Mulberry Street because Scorsese is shooting another movie in Little Italy. And those catering tables, with fresh food set out for the film crew? I’d be lying if I told you I’ve never been tempted to palm a bagel and make a run for it.

However, when I find myself awaiting my own moment under the hot lights — pedestrians be damned — well, it feels pretty cool.

You might never know it, but I’m in the critically acclaimed “Uncut Gems,” directed by Josh and Benny Safdie and starring Adam Sandler. I had met the New York filmmaking brothers when I wrote a story about their previous movie, “Good Time.” We hit it off, stayed in touch and, in April, they offered me a background role.

This is what lands me in a utility room at Mohegan Sun Casino, in Uncasville, Conn. — not exactly Hollywood. I’m surrounded by a dozen or so extras: primarily male, mostly dressed in casual pants and button-down shirts, all following the order to appear inconspicuous. Some kill time on their laptops, others read, most talk shop with one another — discussing the ups and downs of earning their livings as cinematic wallpaper.

On the upside, we’re being fed fabulous Frank Pepe pizza and all the Coca-Cola we can drink. Between bites and sips, one of the veteran extras tells me tales of directors plucking interesting-looking nobodies out of the queue and spontaneously throwing them lines. I figure this will be my destiny.

When Josh Safdie — red bearded, gregarious and wearing an Elara Pictures baseball cap — strolls in, he spots me and steps over. Josh points at my head and calls out to Benny, “Look, Kaplan’s here.”

Benny swoops in for a handshake. We chat about a guy I hooked them up with for shady-character research on “Gems.” I don’t get offered any lines, but I’m cool with another slice of pizza. I hit a blackjack table during dinner break and promptly blow $100.

Soon after, my big moment is nigh, as a production assistant calls my name and leads me down to the Mohegan’s parking garage. It doubles as the bowels of a Boston Celtics practice facility where degenerate gambler Howard Ratner, played by Sandler, is chasing down diamond-loving NBA star Kevin Garnett (playing himself). I’m paired with a guy who sports a thinly braided ponytail and told to cross the asphalt. To be honest, neither of us was born for the silver screen.

A crew member gives a hand signal to start walking. We cut ahead of Sandler and Lakeith Stanfield, who plays the middleman between Ratner and jewel-obsessed Garnett. I do a serviceable job of walking straight and not tripping over ponytail guy.

It’s an inauspicious feature-film debut, and, after the scene wraps, the Safdies are cordial as can be. They introduce me to Sandler, we all chat it up like old pals, riffing on poker and sports betting. My proximity to stardom leaves a couple of extras slack-jawed. “How the hell are you friends with those guys?” is the conversation for the next couple minutes.

When people ask me about my role, I tell them, “Don’t blink, or you’ll miss it.”

After attending a preview of the Oscar-touted “Gems,” I can report that although I didn’t wind up on the cutting room floor, anyone who wants to recognize me will need special glasses that unblur the blurred. Depth-of-field doomed my shot at stardom, with Sandler in focus and Kaplan out.

What remains gloriously clear, though, is my name on the special thanks roundup in the closing credits. A classy move from the Safdies — and, says one of my daughters, better than being in focus on-screen. Thanks, kid.