Taking notes in a murder case. With my “Acting Face”

I have the sort of face that means I would never get away with a crime. I occasionally get recognised as a member of the Hexham Amateur Stage Society by people in that town who regularly come to see our shows. But more recently I have been recognised by people outside Hexham, because a couple of weeks ago I was an “Extra” in an episode in Vera.

I went to the Headquarters of Northumberland and City Police for three days last August and had a great time, despite the look on my face in the picture above. That’s my acting face. My parts took about an hour in total, although I was only on screen for about 30 seconds. I do however confess to being very excited when the programme eventually aired in January.

In case you wondered how a mooncalf like me can get to rub shoulders with the likes of Brenda Blethyn, here’s a brief list of how I went about it – and how you could too.

  1. I registered with an agency. I’ve been with Bessie and her team at NE14TV in Newcastle for a few years now. They are a lovely professional team who get requests from film companies, outlining the kind of people they need as Supporting Artistes (SA) for any particular project. They then pass these requests on to us.
  2. I built a profile on their website: https://www.ne14.tv/search-results/13657/5dbssouth-saxon
  3. After joining the agency I went on a course for SAs, covering things like how much they pay, how to behave on a set, and what you can expect when you get there.
  4. All SAs need a DBS check. I already have one as a requirement of their job. But a lot of film companies now require one and it’s more than a distinct advantage to have one.

Aside from Vera, I’ve had supporting roles in George Gently, a feature film with Stephen Tomkinson, and in one of the ITV Idents (a background film that ITV show between programmes). Not only do you get paid for the privilege but you get fed too, which if you know me is very important!

There are downsides to it – you have to be prepared to sit around and do nothing for long periods and then be ready when you get the call, so it can be a bit tedious. And in “Harrigan”, the feature film I was part of, I spent a lot of time in the early hours of a Wednesday morning standing out in a snowstorm. But if you get to be with a group of people like I always seem to be employed with, the time flies by.

If you’d like to know more, just get in touch. In the meantime, you can get further information direct from the Agency at info@ne14tv.

See you on set!