Greg Sproles, a muscular young man whose friends told him he looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger, quit his Orlando bartending job 12 years ago and moved to Hollywood to work in the moviemaking capital of the world. Much to his surprise, the work kept taking him back East.

Last January, he pulled up stakes and moved to a new filmmaking mecca: Atlanta. Since then, he has stood in as Will Ferrell's body double on "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues," played a SWAT team member in the coming "Fast & Furious 7"...