It's not everyday NASA coughs up an astronaut to star in a quirky, black comedy.

But according to Youth in Revolt director Miguel Arteta, the good folks at NASA headquarters in Washington were more than amenable when he asked if he could tap one of the first men on the moon to do a cameo in his movie, starring Brampton's Michael Cera.

"I had seen a documentary called In The Shadow of the Moon about the Apollo program. In it, Mike Collins - one of the three Apollo 11 astronauts who first went to the moon - speaks about his journey. Mike Collins is the guy who flew Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the moon, waited for them, and brought them back," explains the Puerto Rican director who is responsible for some of the funniest episodes of Ugly Betty, The Office and Six Feet Under.

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"He was so insightful in that documentary ... and I thought he'd be great in the movie. So I emailed NASA and asked if there was any chance I could get one of the first three men on the moon? They emailed me right back, and said, sure, which one do you want? I said Mike Collins. And that was that. I could not believe how easy it was to get in touch with them."

Then the film's producer David Permut added: "He's (Collins) at CAA (Creative Artists Agency) now."

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