BART employee stars in new film about famed sign spinner

The promotional poster for "Izzy Lyon: The Unspun Truth."

Around BART Headquarters, Larry Fuller is known as a Workforce Development Specialist in the HR department. Outside the office, however, Fuller is a freshly minted indie movie star.

On Nov. 4, Fuller’s status as a film actor was cemented with the release of “Izzy Lyon: The Unspun Truth.” Fuller plays the titular character in the movie – his first speaking role in a feature film. “Izzy Lyon,” which was largely improvised, also stars comedians David Koechner, Greg Proops, Kim Whitley, Bryan Davis, Bruce Baum, Lang Parker, and Phil LaMarr.

The film premiered on Nov. 2 at Chicago’s Davis Theater. It was a surreal evening for Fuller, who said that when he entered the theater, “I was just Larry.”

“Then 150, 200 people show up and watch the movie, and all of a sudden, everyone’s shy and approaching me like I’m some star,” said Fuller, speaking recently from BART Headquarters in Oakland.

“Izzy Lyon” is a mockumentary that follows a world-renowned sign spinner (played by Fuller) who has disappeared from the spotlight. The role was a natural fit for Fuller, who worked as a professional sign spinner for more than a decade, having taught himself the craft as a teenager.

“I started sign spinning at 15,” he said. “My pay was determined by how well I performed, so I practiced a lot and eventually started going to competitions, training others, and getting high-profile gigs.”

Larry Fuller and cast members of “Izzy Lyon” at the premiere. Photo courtesy of Larry Fuller.

At competitions, Fuller’s sign spinning stood out as unique and original. He said he’s taken more than 200 flights around the world – to Europe, Asia, and Central America – to teach others the art. One of his students is Jose “Mucho” Angeles, a Bay Area native of viral fame, who became the first sign spinner to perform in Cirque du Soleil this year.

In 2020, Fuller hung up his sign. He’d been spinning for most of his life, and he wanted to have time to focus on other priorities and interests, including his music and his two-year-old daughter.

“There’s so many things I want to do,” Fuller said. “It hit me that I couldn’t manage all of them at once.”

At BART, Fuller has a host of responsibilities within the HR department, including processing requests for tuition assistance under BART’s Educational Assistance and Enhanced Assistance programs; managing new hire probation data; and processing retiree awards. He said spinning and acting have helped him in his BART career because he’s worked “with different kinds of people from all over the world and from different walks of life.”

“It makes it easy and enjoyable for me to learn and connect with others,” he said. 

Fuller said he became involved in “Izzy Lyon” thanks to word of mouth. The filmmakers, whose previous projects include “Prop Stars” on Disney Plus and “Curse of Aurore,” were trying to find the perfect fit for Izzy, and fellow sign spinners in the community recommended Fuller, he said.

“I wasn’t sure at first because I was out of the game,” he said. “But I had a blast.”

Fuller said he enjoyed working on set and seeing that alchemical dance between director and producer, cinematographer and gaffer, actor and costume designer.

“It was amazing seeing how they all worked together and all the little things they did to make the shot work,” he said. “It was demystifying and also magical to be a part of it.”

In the future, Fuller hopes to continue acting, perhaps in dramatic films in the Bay Area. He also hopes to one day create something of his own.

“I have ideas,” he said. “I might just make my own short film.”