I was gazing into J. Lo’s brown eyes. We were inches away from each other, locked in an even gaze, her face tilted up slightly toward mine. I could smell her hair spray. Then the director called, “Cut!”

It was the summer of 2016, and I was acting in an episode of an NBC crime drama called “Shades of Blue.” I use the term “acting” loosely because I had exactly one line.

I had never watched “Shades of Blue” before I tried out for it. All I knew was that it was a cop show set in New York City starring Jennifer Lopez and Ray Liotta. To be honest, I thought of the role as a potential stopgap at a time when I was in a figuring-things-out phase of my life. Although I had appeared on a soap opera years earlier, since its cancellation I had mostly checked out of the audition circuit.

The audition was held in an office building in Midtown. The casting director, Rob, had me read for three roles: “F.B.I. Commander,” “Bailiff” and (horrifyingly) “Old Cop.”

Before I left, Rob told me: “Look, if you get one of these, just be cool, OK? Be cool.”

There were no callbacks. I was hired for the part of “Bailiff.” My duties consisted of asking a character named Harlee, “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”

Once I got the part, I Googled “Harlee on ‘Shades of Blue’” and gasped. Harlee was played by Jennifer Lopez. This sent my imagination off the deep end, as I briefly entertained the notion of bonding with Jenny from the Block. I thought of all the things I could say to her: You were terrific in “Selena.” I cried at the end of “Maid in Manhattan.” You never should have been with Marc Anthony anyway!