Since returning from Oxford I've missed out on six to seven jobs - all extra work. Damn my conscientious commitment to this 9 to 5 lifestyle! Finally snagged a role the last weekend of October. My first speaking part in a commercial feature film no less.
ACTING AGENT: “can you play a university staff member?”
ME: “Maybe. Think I might have to go method on this one…”
Rocked up to shoot on w'end, hit the set and kicked up to speaking role. While not quite Bill Murray - "We came. We saw. We KICKED its ASS!" - the feeling of achievement was much the same effect.
Unit base was at an inner city uni campus - crew and extras were sat under staging tents in a quadrangle which kinda gave out a long-forgotten school camp vibe . Not long after arriving, the heavens opened. They stayed open. Luckily the tents held up under the water....just.
Dodged the rain to find myself on set and dressed for the part of a uni staff member. It was obvious from the set-up I'd be somewhere on stage up the front of the bulk of the extras watching a 'graduation'.
It panned out that way, and then one of those lovely arbitrary opportunities opened up. Suddenly I was bumped up to my first speaking part - managed all the takes without any misfires. I nervously recited Major General Stanley's lines to loosen up.
I had the chance to improv at least one bad joke during a sound check in front of about 60 extras plus crew. Unfortunately I took that chance and immediately wished I hadn't. That will not be the iconic line of this movie. Kinda not the done thing to do comedy/improv in front of professionals I think.
My actual lines (yes plural, thankyou very much) have potential iconic-ness but probably only to me. That's assuming they make it past the cutting room floor which I reckon they will because .....well...you had to be there.
The Director was bowling leg-spin to the crew with a tennis ball on set inside the hall when I got there. The other usual suspect was on camera and usual suspect 2 was pretty quiet in the background. I guess he was concentrating on writing my lines for me.
I have the A4 page I was given. Not quite same as Kick Gurry getting lines especially written for him by David Mamet for his role in 'Spartan', but a classy memento nonetheless. A big achievement I had marked down for 2012 came along as an early birthday present.
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