Tom Krettler, a broker associate with RE/MAX Unlimited Northeast, serves on the board of the Illinois Association of REALTORS®. He’s a past president of the Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS®.

His hobby is acting, and the Palatine REALTOR® has had numerous bit parts in TV and movie productions.

His latest turn in the spotlight was in a video produced in conjunction with Amtrak at Union Station. Krettler got a call recently asking if he could participate in a video shoot for The Magic Piano.

The video has since garnered more than 594,000 views as of Friday afternoon, and has been picked up in the national media.

The premise of the Rob Bliss Creative video: A remotely-controlled piano in Union Station interacts with various people as they stroll through one of the historic station’s main halls.

Krettler said he got some advance say on the genre of music he likes (50s rock), but the direction really was minimal.

“They told me there was no rehearsal — just do it,” Krettler said.

Also, the producers told him: “Throw a few dance steps in if you can.”

So dance Krettler did. His segment has him approaching the piano, grooving to the music and then dancing. (His part begins at 1:41).

“It was a blast,” Krettler said of the experience.

At the end of his segment, Krettler said those watching applauded.

Krettler plays bit parts all the time. Sometimes it’s a bar scene, another time it might be a shot in a hanger at the DuPage County Airport. He never knows if he will make the final cut until he sees the program.