In his latest acting role, Bill Kennedy had the pleasure of sharing some screen time with legendary Buffalo Sabres tough guy Rob Ray.

As a producer working behind the scenes of the film “One of the Good Ones,” the former Niagara Falls city councilman got to do something he equally enjoyed — scout locations in and around the city so they could be used as the backdrop in several scenes.

“A lot of my Niagara Falls connections and relationships and friendships helped me leverage a lot of locations people can actually see,” Kennedy said. “There are some good Niagara Falls connections to the film.”

Kennedy, who has worked as an actor for years, got involved in “One of the Good Ones” by producing the movie after responding to a Facebook film group post from Executive Producer Tom Paolino, who was looking for potential shooting locations in Western New York.

Kennedy submitted several sites, many in the Falls, and Paolino and the movie’s director, Julie O’Hora, loved what they saw.

As a result, the movie’s courtroom scenes were filmed at Town of Niagara town hall.

Producers used Antonio’s Banquet & Conference Center, owned and operated by the Strangio family of the Falls, to portray a rehabilitation center.

Kennedy, who is a lifelong friend of Falls hotelier Frank Strangio, said crew members also stayed at the Strangio family’s Cambria Hotel during filming and shot several scenes from the movie inside that location.

There is also a scene along the edge of Niagara Falls itself.

Kennedy personally scouted one location — a private home in the Town of Wheatfield that was used to film a scene involving a log cabin in the movie. Kennedy noticed the house while out driving one day, stopped and knocked on the door and met the homeowner, who was happy to work with the film crew.

A scene featuring Paolino’s character, Dean Alessi and his investigator having drinks was filmed at Ilio DiPaolo’s restaurant in Buffalo. This is also where Kennedy’s character “Paranoid Perry” is introduced, whom he portrays in a Jim Carrey-style.

“It’s a locally made film with 90-plus Western New Yorkers who were involved in it. That’s the big thing,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy, who served as a Falls councilman from 2018 to 2021, got involved in theater production for shows presented by Lancaster Regional Players and Theatre in the Mist in Niagara Falls. His first brush with Hollywood movie-making came in 1998 when he was invited to the set of director Kevin Smith’s film, “Dogma.” From there, Kennedy won a pair of national acting contests and later found work on several television shows, the most prominent being Expedition X featuring Niagara Falls on the episode “Niagara Nightmare”.

Closer to home, Kennedy co-produced a movie called “Attack of the Killer Shrews,” which was a remake of the 1959 cult classic, “The Killer Shrews.” Kennedy also played a sheriff in the movie named Martin Blake. In 2022, he played the role of Sheriff Preacher in another locally produced movie, “Guns of Eden.” Both films are available on Amazon Prime.

In his latest movie, “Perry” meets Rob Ray in a bar (DiPaolo’s) and the two have a quirky chat, some of which covers Ray’s role as an on-ice enforcer for the Sabres.

“He was good. We had fun with him,” Kennedy said.

Cast and crew will be on hand for a local screening of “One of the Good Ones” at 11:30 a.m. March 8 at the North Park Theatre, 1428 Hertel Ave., Buffalo. The event will feature a question-and-answer session following the screening.

Kennedy said he’s looking forward to taking on more roles — both in front of the camera and behind the scenes — in the future.

“I’m still grinding and I’m still working and I’m still doing what I love doing,” Kennedy said. “This one just kind of fell into my lap.”