I LOVE it when I meet someone unexpectedly and they turn out to be uber interesting. It happened recently in Annalong, of all places. Got chatting to a guy in the excellent Harbour Inn and it turned out he was an ‘extra’.
Can’t tell you his name and can’t show you his photograph because he keeps himself undercover. Why? Not because he is a prima donna, because he’s a chameleon! Why? Well it’s obvious really. He has to be inconspicuous unless he’s appearing as a character in a film or an advertisement. “Otherwise we have to merge into the background.”
I’ll call him James. He’s retired, mid-50s, tall, well built, greying beard and hair which is long and tied back and he guards his identity.
He was taken on by The Extras Dept, based on Belfast’s Albertbidge Road, in May 2011, and instructed not to cut his hair until after Christmas and to grow a beard. But it was well worth it as it turned out he was deemed perfect for a non-speaking part in Game of Thrones; since then he has been a peasant, a customer in an inn, a farm worker, a Northern lord and a fisherman.
He has appeared in a variety of films, The Fall, a TV ad for the tourism board and in a major scene in the BBC drama My Mother and Other Strangers. Sadly the scene was never shown. More luck with The Frankenstein Chronicles starring Sean Bean.
It all sounds idyllic but it’s a very professional area of the film industry. First the applicant has to fill in an availability form (download from the internet); the agency then builds a profile for its database – photos, measurements, age, special skills – all prepared and waiting for the time a production company comes with their shopping list. And they are coming to Northern Ireland from all over the world at the moment.
The Extras Dept have 20,000 clients on their books including children who, by the way, must have chaperones, be they guardians or parents ,and all need to have a criminal record check which is now routine in so many organisations.
James scores highly because, being retired, he’s available at short notice.
“One day I got a call at 6.30am asking me could I be in Bangor by 7.30am to start filming. Someone had called in sick. Ten seconds later I got an email giving all the details. It’s usually a long day, a lot of hanging around so the first thing I do is pack a book!”
With so many extras going through wardrobe and make-up it can be an early start and a late finish. Continuity is vital; there are constant checks; every button must be done up the right way, hair parted on the same side, no forgotten rings or bracelets. Then, once crew and artists are ready, shooting begins, extras go to their positions and the cameras roll.
“A good director will give us detailed notes, maybe at the last minute move someone a couple of inches to one side, ask you to count to five before moving, tiny details that make for a perfect product. One hazard is the weather – we must have the world’s record supply of Ikea umbrellas.
"Then there’s the disappointment when you expect to see yourself in a scene but they cut away and all you see is your shoulder, or someone walks in front of you and you’re blanked out. The cutting room floor is the dreaded enemy.
“My most exciting moment was the second day of GOT [Game of Thrones]. It started with 40 extras in the background at the Ballintoy venue but then it was cut down to 16 including me and there I was standing right behind Alfie Allen who plays Theon Greyjoy.”
That was a thrill but, like all extras, he’s forbidden to approach or talk to the stars; asking for an autograph is absolutely out of the question.
Being an extra can lead on to long-term success, with some making it to the big time. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were extras in Field of Dreams, Bruce Willis, George Clooney and Brad Pitt also came forward from the background. What they did was to network and make contacts, be available and be good at what they were asked to do. Something James is well aware of and hopes for a few words some day and a screen credit at the end of the film.
How did Game of Thrones arrive in Northern Ireland, heralding a lucrative industry that has given so much employment to our actors, technicians and extras? It’s been said that HBO, the American cable and satellite television network, originally planned to shoot the series in Scotland but it was put on hold and when they came back to rebook the Scottish facility it wasn’t available.
Thankfully they came looking in our part of the world and found it was perfect. The decision certainly put Northern Ireland on the map when it comes to film locations and technical expertise.
Although the majority of extras don’t have theatre or television experience, there’s one thing they must master: the art of silent acting. I now have a renewed interest in crowd scenes, chatting in The Rovers Return or laughing in EastEnders – those in the back are silently acting.
“I always work out a little story so, although we don’t speak, we mime in a more realistic way. Talking about football in a pub scene, for instance, you can afford to get quite animated with little gestures. That way it’s easier to avoid the camera as you have a reason to look at the other person, so we’re always learning.”
I’ll be viewing television and film with a whole new eye in future, an eye specially on Ken Barlow who is always catching the eye of the camera. Just watch!
