Experience: From Game Of Thrones To By The Sea, The Trials And Tribulations Of A Maltese Film Extra
As the hunt is on for thousands of extras for the filming of the Gladiator sequel, I wanted to share my personal experiences working as a background actor – or film extra as they are commonly known – across a number of big and small productions on the island.
I’ve been a chef in ‘By The Sea’, a mercenary in ‘Lord Byron’, a pauper, a merchant and a high priest in ‘The Risen’, a Jew in ‘The Eichmann Files’; but my most memorable part has to be a middle-aged client in a brothel in season 1 of the massive ‘Game of Thrones’.
People often ask – were you actually paid?
It’s not as glamorous as it sounds. It can get tedious hanging about for hours on end waiting to do a five second task even when you are surrounded by incredible actors and talent.
A shot that lasts for all of three seconds can take two 12 hour days to shoot, like what happened on a closed set in an ancient, dilapidated yet magnificent Żebbuġ villa. Of course, not only for this one shot. A scene is shot from many angles and each one has many takes until the director is satisfied with the coverage.
Familiar faces such as Sean Bean, Michelle Fairley and, well… Little Finger. All the international crew in Malta anyway, sitting down, casually chatting away, sipping tea, waiting for their turn.
And all the little dramas in the ‘featured extras” backstage, where toga’d nymphs worried about the nipple makeup and icing while the director worried if my ‘escort’ looked too old for me…
For GOT, they became so worried about my ‘escort’ that they actually flew in a new glamour model in from the UK next day, a younger, also stunning, Emily Diamond. That’s a pretty typical day of work, as strange as it may seem.
Another role I enjoyed was being the chef in Angelina Jolie’s “By The Sea.” Spending a few weeks practically living in Mġarr ix-Xini lent a feeling of community between the talent and lots of new friendships were made.
Jolie herself was a very considerate director and treated everyone with respect and a friendly smile. She would make sure that the young children on the set had plenty of juices and were fed well.
On set and in costume
She was very nice to all the crew, checking to see if every one had refreshments and greeting me cheerfully by my first name whenever we bumped into each other.
I’m genuinely sorry the movie flopped, but I don’t think people expected French auteur era realism in a film starring power-couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt and directed by the same Jolie.
Other times, I was actually paid to not shave my beard for two months!
Realistically, as fun as the job is, being an extra is the lowest caste in the labyrinthine hierarchy of the motion picture. It is not very well paid and the hours are very long.
However, it can give you a unique insight to the complex craft of film-making as you wait around for hours with not much to do but observe, observe and observe.
Will you immortalise your face on the silver screen in Gladiator 2?
READ NEXT: Watch: Qawra's Shallow Waters Filling With Construction Residue Has Locals Deeply Concerned
