What fan of the movies hasn't looked up at the big screen with a dream of being on it, trading lines with De Niro or Hanks or Leo? Or Johnny Depp?

For four Times employees, the movie "Public Enemies" is letting them live just that dream.

Don Asher, Joe Carlson, Philip Potempa and Yuri Victor all have parts in director Michael Mann's latest film, which will depict the rise of the FBI as they pursue notorious bank robber John Dillinger. The film is currently shooting in Crown Point, site of Dillinger's legendary jail break in 1934.

Asher, The Times' deputy executive editor, said being a part of the film has surpassed all of his expectations.

"It has been the experience of a lifetime," Asher said Tuesday night after wrapping his day on the set. "In my wildest imagination -- I've done a lot in 40-plus years in the newspaper business, I've seen a lot, I've met a lot of people, but this probably tops it all."

Asher said when he sent in his photo to the casting agency, which was looking to cast real journalists in reporter rolls, he didn't expect much.

"When this thing came up, I said, 'What the heck, I can be an extra. I can just stand there,' " Asher said. "Little did I know that I would get cast in a roll with some speaking parts. And hopefully they make it to the big screen."

Potempa, a columnist and reporter for the paper, said he believes an authentic fedora worn by famed gossip columnist Walter Winchell and a pair of Winchell's cufflinks worn to his audition helped him land his part.

"I dressed like what I thought a reporter would look like in the 1930s," Potempa said of his audition. "When (the casting agents) talked to me about that, I made sure to tell them about Walter Winchell's fedora and cufflinks, and I talked to them about how Winchell had written many columns about Dillinger. And I think that sold them on casting me because I had something unique and different."

Victor, The Times' online editor, said the experience so far has given him a new appreciation for the filmmaking process.

"I thought to be a good actor, you had to learn some lines and act them out well," Victor said. "But there's so many more things that go into it. You're constantly under pressure, and you have like five minutes to learn how to do something the way they did it back then.

"But in the newspaper industry you have to adapt really fast -- so I'm used to that."

Carlson, a Times reporter, is not taking part in the Crown Point portion of the filming. He is schedule to shoot later this spring. But he laughed when asked if he believes he is prepared to play the role of a reporter.

"I think I've got about 10 years reporting experience -- so I can realistically pose a question," he said.

Carlson said that while Depp carries the star power, he's particularly excited about working with Mann.