Article does a great job of conveying the stress involved for a non-actor to play even a tiny part in a big movie like this, but yeesh, it'd be a dream come true to get even the tiniest part in one of the greatest movies of all time (IMO obviously), let alone to luck into it this way by pure happenstance.
I remembered the scene vaguely, but was curious to go back and see it. It happens at roughly 7 minutes 19 seconds into the movie, intercut into the initial awards scene, and right before Willem Dafoe's nephew gives Steve a seahorse in a bag.
Beautifully written! Life aquatic is one of my favorite movies. Coincidentally father-son relationship is the central theme of the movie!
He really did look like Bill Murray - when I got to the photo I wasn't sure if it really was Bill or the authors father..
Bizarre seeing this since I'm currently listening to The Life Aquatic soundtrack while I work.
For those wondering, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_S._F._Cooper_Jr.>