In the re-imagining (director Werner Herzog swore off calling it a remake or sequel) “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans,” relative newcomer Lucius Baston gets to go toe-to-toe with movie star Nicholas Cage.

The 2009 release wasn’t his first feature film but four years into a full-time acting career it has provided a significant boost to this Florida-based former U.S. Air Force communications technician’s career and one of those handy anecdotes the press loves to devour.

The film opened the 66th Venice Film Festival and Baston found himself by the red carpet watching Cage, Herzog and co-star Eva Mendes being escorted into the theater.

“My tickets were supposed to be left at the concierge desk at the hotel,” recalled Baston. “But lo and behold, nobody had them and I stood outside for two-and-a-half hours talking to anyone who would listen. Finally, I remembered I had Nic’s phone number so I sent him a text saying I was stuck outside.

“He called me back in within five minutes asking where I was. I said, ‘I’m out front,’ so he said, ‘Go down to the dock, I’ll pick you up in the boat and take you to the afterparty myself.’

“It was an amazing night, the party was on this big yacht in the bay. I’m glad I didn’t have my ticket because it ended up being a better experience — and if I’d been a woman it would have been a great love scene.”

In his early 30s, Baston reflects on the incident with the kind of humorous perspective that should stand him in good stead for the vagaries of a fickle industry.

A native New Yorker from Richmond Hill, Queens, he followed his father and one of his two brothers into the military at 19 and stayed for 11 years finally settling in Tampa Bay.

Working in the electronics field as a civilian he tired of a nine-to-five routine and gravitated toward a career in radio using skills he had honed as a teenage disc jockey in the early days of 1980s hip-hop.

Nevertheless, he was bitten by the acting bug when a friend showed him a set of her headshots and said she wanted to be an actress. It prompted him to enroll in the Performers Studio Worshop, where he studied for four years.

But unlike most showbiz wannabes who seek out the bright lights of Hollywood, Baston is content to stay put for the time being.

“My thinking is that I’m watching what the business is doing and there are these big tax incentives to bring productions to the Southeast so I thought why not build up my credits here at home,” he said.

“I can travel to Louisiana and Georgia and work that market and be a bigger fish in a smaller pond, because if I went out to L.A. I’d be competing with everyone and their mother.

“Most of the leading roles come out of L.A. or even New York — that’s a given. But if you’re non-union and don’t have credits under your belt, in most cases they won’t even look at you.”

And Baston, who will be featured on the season finale of Tyler Perry’s “House of Payne,” playing a shady Realtor, believes his approach is paying off.

“I had just signed on a Saturday with my agency in Atlanta and they said I needed to drive up there for the ‘House of Payne’ audition,” he said. “It was a seven-hour trip, but I’ll get on the road to do what I need to do. I arrived on Monday afternoon and was one of the last to read. I spoke with the casting director and the producer and it was very comfortable. I got the call the next day and was working that Wednesday.”

However, as it turned out the experience was tinged with sadness.

“The day we shot [the episode], [Tyler Perry’s] mother passed away,” explained Baston. “It was like a spiritual experience. We all wished him well and we started the day in a prayer circle, which set a wonderful tone for the day. Being on set was a unique experience.

“You don’t normally shoot a whole episode in one day, but they’ve got it down to a science. And to know his story is so inspiring, it lets you know that anything is possible as long as you stay spiritually grounded and understand you have a purpose and to live it.”

Along with the Tyler Perry gig, Baston recently had meetings with “The Wire” producer David Simon about a role in his new HBO series, “Treme,” set in post-Katrina New Orleans.

“I’m still on the grind,” said Baston. “Always looking for the next job.”