I was born into a household already occupied by two brothers and a sister. The way I look at it these days is finding yourself in a world of events that had lost their excitement and an appreciation of hand me downs.
I was the 4th to learn how to walk, the 4th to learn how to talk, the 4th to start school etc etc.
Some of my earliest memories are from the time nanny (mum’s mum) came to live with us. I don’t really remember my grandad as he passed away about 18 months before. I know I met him and he met me - that’s all that matters really.
When nanny was there we spent most of our time together.
Mum and dad both worked full time (not surprising with 5 children by that point).
The older 3 were all teenagers at grammar school. Nicky the baby had come along when I was 2 and a half. I took very seriously the instruction to ‘look after Nicky’ from the moment he was born. I had to watch over him, be nice to him, help him and keep him safe.
I remember nanny calling me “Pickle”, which was a bit confusing because we actually had a tortoiseshell cat by that name already.
Even my nickname was a hand me down!!
Nanny would walk me to Barnett Wood Lane primary school. We would kick the horse chestnut leaves on Woodfield Lane as we crossed over from our house to the pathway crossing the little common.
It had taken me a long time to deal with the last few sucker punches. Injuries had begun to take their toll and my caring duties at home now comprised 2 teenagers, my elderly mum, and 3 rescue dogs.
While I was running my dog walking business, I had a few clients in TV and film production. I was having major problems with one of my shoulders and knew that my days of driving around and managing my varied pack of charges were numbered.
As I explained to one of my clients what issues I was having, she suggested to me that maybe working as a supporting artist in film and TV might be a good idea. She said that my patient and calm character and ability to deal with whatever I encountered day to day would be perfect for that world.
The internet is a fantastic resource so the next day I took the first steps to putting my new fledgling plan into action. I typed "supporting artist" into the search engine and found a wealth of sites offering information, genuine opportunities and also some offering what I found to be false promises.
There are so many sites offering the chance to "be on TV," so many agencies to join, so initial steps into it can result in a few pitfalls and wasted money. The best advice at this stage is to take it steady and often overlook the sites offering instant opportunities after any initial payment to "join us."
My first dip into the waters was to create a profile on one site that operates like a jobs board for the whole range of roles within the media industry. There are adverts on there for actors, models, dancers, supporting artists, photographers, and film crew. There are paid and unpaid work opportunities, adverts on there state the roles, the dates and location, then it is down to you to apply via the site and wait for a response.
The reason for choosing that first site was the fact that it is free to create your very first profile. While finding your feet it is so important to a) not part with any money up front until you understand what you are paying for and b) take your time to learn how to create that all important profile to make yourself stand out as someone productions would want to employ.
Most sites have a "create your profile" template to follow. Just take the time to work through each section, some bits may seem a bit random so it helps to read through profiles others have created to give you an idea of what is expected.
Photographs are important to show yourself as you are, and give the chance to show how versatile you can be in terms of a variety of "looks." It is NOT necessary to fork out money for professional shots when starting out. Some good quality digital photos of you face on and full length, mobile phone shots are such good quality that they would be absolutely fine.
Look out for adverts on the jobs boards from photographers offering TFP. This means "time for prints." It is a good opportunity to gain modeling experience as the photographer directs you. It’s an arrangement by which the photographer benefits from adding specific shots to his/her portfolio, and you benefit by being given some professional shots for your personal use.
Remember this is not like your usual CV, it doesn’t really matter what qualifications you got at school, whether you were head of the student union, or the need for references. Productions and agencies would like to know about the person that you are now so honesty and optimism are important. By all means mention your previous job roles or careers, no need to list employers etc, just mention that you were previously a chef, a barrister, a market trader, a police officer, anything really. In this world selections are often initially made from applicants who have real life experience in the roles being cast.
Be prepared to spend some time with a pad, a pen and a tape measure. Accurate measurements are important, just remember that supporting artists of all shapes, sizes, creeds and colours are needed. Time to gain confidence in yourself as you are, that scar on your face that you have spent years trying to cover up can now become an asset in helping you to stand out and gain roles.
There is no standard "look," there are roles for everyone out there, of all ages. The key is to write down more about your calm, patient character, or your ability to adapt to new situations quickly. Reliability and the willingness to work on short notice are a must, as is the ability to get up and out at some ungodly hour of the morning to be on set at a studio 40 miles away.
Car drivers are most in demand because some locations can be out of reach for public transport at the time you are needed. There are also opportunities to drive your car, or a production car, on set. Tight filming schedules lead to the need for pretend traffic jams on location rather than the unpredictability of trying to film scenes out on real roads.
The skills and experience sections are not for listing every school production you ever appeared in (unless you have just left school of course). Just a general mention of having been involved in amateur dramatics, or guided tours, or work-based role play activities will all demonstrate that you have the confidence and some experience in a vaguely similar world to what you are hoping to enter.
List skills such as swimming, football, silver service, camping, fly fishing, needlecraft or UFC fighting. Have a think about all the things that you see people doing on screen behind the lead actors, these are all the things you could be far better at doing than someone else.
Period dramas have demand for skills such as wood chopping, fish gutting, carriage driving, heavy lifting and carrying of mysterious hessian wrapped bundles down at the dock scenes. You may never have done any acting in your life before, but your ten years as a builders labourer and hod carrier are far more valuable when productions need people who can lift and carry the same huge bundle up the same ramp for 20 takes without passing out or throwing a tantrum.
Work your way through the sections, the first profile is always the most difficult but once you have that done it will become much easier to adjust and adapt it as you build up your experience and your understanding of what is, and isn’t, relevant.
As a supporting artist you are not signed to an agent, you have the chance to join as many agencies as you wish that supply background actors/extras or whatever term they use, for TV and film. For now, your challenge is to get that profile written and get yourself involved.
There are an array of websites out there; just be wary of ones that make promises of guaranteed work with hotels provided and other lures to encourage you to part with some money. TV soaps NEVER put out adverts for supporting artists to be on them. There is a particular click bait site that pops up with disappointing regularity on social media, under a variety of names such as ‘TVTalent.’ The adverts always claim that Eastenders or Emmerdale or Coronation Street (depending on the region) are looking to recruit 100 or so extras. To have the best chance you have to register with them. THIS IS NOT HOW IT WORKS.
Each soap uses a selection of established agencies to supply their supporting artists. We generally work on a rotation system whereby we may be booked for a couple of days out on the square in Eastenders, then wait between 10 and 12 weeks before we are eligible to be booked on it again. The same rules tend to apply for all of the big profile soaps and recurring TV dramas.
There are the regular supporting artists whose faces you will see week in week out, drinking in the pub or manning the market stalls. They have built up to that point, being reliable and professional. Production and the agencies know that they are generally adept at going about their business in the background without distracting from the main action or bothering the actors in between takes.
This is not a guide to becoming a superstar, plucked from obscurity after being spotted for your charismatic purchase of a newspaper in the Cabin, or your beer sipping technique in the Queen Vic. You do not have to be a trained actor to be in the background; sometimes it is better if you aren’t (I will explain that contentious issue another day). It is a great way of working in a whole range of different roles, not having to remember dialogue, and potentially earning enough to make a living.
I know I am probably frustrating you with this baby steps approach. The thing is, the most difficult step to take is that first one. Build your confidence and your experience up gradually, and you will then see the momentum build up in the roles you are offered and the opportunities that come your way. You will feel at home out on set, you will understand what is expected of you, and you will get to know a whole array of people from different walks of life with whom you can share advice.
OK, Jo, stop pontificating and spill the beans, I hear you say. Alright then, here we go.
I have avoided naming agencies and websites deliberately for geographical reasons. Wherever you are reading this I would like to be as general as possible so anyone can benefit. Different agencies cover different areas, and different countries.
The first website I found operates as a jobs board with paid and unpaid opportunities in all areas of the industry. Have a look through, learn to adjust the search options to those adverts relevant to what you think you would like to do. My entry into this came about through responding to an advert for supporting artists on a short film. I had my profile all ready, and applied to a few ‘expenses only’ adverts in my area. I didn’t feel confident enough to apply for paid roles at first; there is less pressure and more gratitude if you are giving up your time solely in exchange for travel expenses and lunch.
Try to apply for roles advertised directly by small production companies and film students. Generally there will be a friendly atmosphere and you will be welcomed as a valuable part of what they are trying to create. My first chance came within a week of creating my profile and putting some applications in. I was contacted via the built in messaging system by the assistant producer of a short film that was in need of supporting artists to play pub customers for a specific scene.
I was thanked for my application, always a good start, and asked if I could possibly be available for filming the following 2 days at a location not far from where I am based. It was quite a shock for my applications to bear fruit so quickly. I confirmed that I was indeed available, and exchanged contact details in order for the call details could be sent to me later that night.
The call sheet came by text, as promised, with the time I was expected to arrive (call time), the address of the shoot (location), and a request to bring a selection of different outfits suitable for a pub customer (wardrobe/costume brief). It is only when these precious details have been received from production that you know you are confirmed and booked for that first day on set.
OK, you have managed to persuade someone that your presence would enhance the background of their film, TV show, music video or commercial.
You have set whichever navigation app to get there either by car or public transport, and you are now realising what those coloured cardboard arrows you see by the roadside for such things as “GCB BASE” and “GCB LOC” might actually mean. They are placed en route local to where a shoot is taking place to assist in the final part of your journey, and coded to prevent hordes of fans from turning up to disrupt proceedings just to catch a glimpse of the actors if they know it’s actually the new series of Sherlock, or some other high profile shoot in their local park.
When arriving at your first (or second, or third) booking on a shoot, hold your head high, smile at anyone who you pass by while you are nervously trying to find your way to the sign in area or holding bus.
It might be your first day, but that won’t be obvious to everyone else as you walk in. Your tentative acting can start there. Tell yourself, ‘I am meant to be here,' grit your teeth, and just stroll in and find a seat. Take some time to just watch and listen to everything going on around you.
Follow the signs for ‘Crowd,’ ‘Background,’ ‘SA holding,’ or ‘Supporting Artists,’ or just ask someone as you arrive at the random location you have been given to get yourself to. You will find a holding area, a green room, or even an area of grass or rubble that has been allocated for you to wait. So many variations of location and conditions depending on the type of shoot and the attitude towards our often overlooked species.
There are so many different terms for what we do or who we are. SA and Background are the most common, but you could be referred to as an Extra or Crowd (I hate that one, because it generally means there will actually be a large crowd of you booked for the shoot). You will be checked in by someone referred to as the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th AD, or maybe the crowd AD: all different names for the assistant director responsible for placing and directing our movements to add atmosphere, movement and whatever else to the background of the main shots being directed by the director and the 1st AD.
Be polite and respectful to your dedicated AD, and listen to them rather than all the other directions being shouted out. They will check your name off on their list, they might give you a sheet of paper for you to have signed and hand in at some point during the day. This is the ‘chit.’ I will explain more about that another time, but keep it safe and keep an eye on what your fellow SAs are doing with theirs.
We are a friendly bunch of lunatics in the main; no question is too silly to ask. We all look out for each other and we will look after you, too. If you feel too shy or out of your comfort zone to start chatting, then just take everything in around you and listen to the chit chat.
Odds are that someone else will be feeling just as nervous and apprehensive as you and will probably ask the questions you want to. So you are more than welcome to sit and listen without joining in and absorb the info that will help you.
When called out to set then follow the others lead. Pick up the lingo used by the ADs such as 1st position, action, reset, quiet please, wipe, banana, wait 3 beats, wild track — the list is endless, and it’s most likely that you are not the only one who isn’t absolutely sure what they are on about; sometimes none of us have a clue what is being asked of us because the direction is a bit ‘muddled.’
But watch out for some of the long-standing SAs who will be friendly when you first end up on set but might shove you in a ditch or send you the wrong way to get themselves in shot.
They can be spotted by the loud voice when greeting everyone in the morning, and then gradual isolation as the friendly, experienced old hands drift away to avoid the same old stories involving ‘Bond,’ ‘Star Wars,’ or ‘Tom Cruise.’
Working in film and TV as a supporting artist and character actress suited me so well that every week brought unexpected results on such a wide variety of productions, sometimes at ridiculously short notice.
One year started with a photo shoot for Cancer Research UK to promote their World Cancer Day Unity Band campaign. It was a fun day out and about in East London. Little did I know that a few weeks later my smiling face would be adorning every CRUK charity shop window across the country.
Productions vary so much in their ways of working you simply never know what to expect when you follow the postcode and walk in with a random selection of clothes that you hope fit the wardrobe brief you were given.
I have played various homeless characters, had a great time causing havoc as a drunk woman in a police custody suite, wandered around as a rough and ready fisherwoman, and spent 5 days taking on all comers as a sumo wrestler in a padded fat suit. I got to film alongside my daughter at a music festival, and opened my eyes after being set up in bed as a dying woman to find that my husband was being played by the very lovely Adrian Edmondson.
One particularly memorable week saw me at a narcotics anonymous meeting on the Monday for one drama series, driving a police car in uniform on the Wednesday for a comedy, and pretending to work in a care home for another crime drama on the Friday. Two out of the three roles ended up making the final cut, you never know from one production to the next whether you will be recognisable on screen - but it all builds those memories because you were there and you did it.
Memories are so important to me these days, they are not something to take for granted. I have learned to appreciate every moment that I am alive.
There have been blocks of work on massive budget film franchises but my main love will always be for TV.
The advent of streaming services such as Amazon and Netflix has really kickstarted so much TV production in the UK. I have filmed in the centre of Derby on a freezing day in January, pretending we were outside an LA courthouse on a hot day. I have also died on a resuscitation bed in a mocked up hospital set in central London for an American drama.
Weekly TV soaps never fail to deliver when it comes to a memorable day at the office as part of a well organised team. Working on those every 8 weeks or so was always a joy. Everyone, be they main cast, crew, or supporting artists all have one goal in mind - to get the scenes filmed efficiently as a team effort and on schedule. I started one year on one soap buying a dress at the market, then visited a very nasty character in prison. I demonstrated my caring abilities in the special care baby unit and ended the year digging over the allotments.
I have been lucky enough to be an ever present in another popular TV drama based around a very murderous county of England. This films from March to October in the most amazing rural locations. I appear to live or work in most of the villages and always have great fun taking on whatever role they throw at me. During the last series we were attending a ballroom class, doing a spot of competitive bee keeping, I attended a ComicCon, worked in a circus and was the guest at a wedding reception. I guess this particular production is my favourite, and I always look forward to watching the episodes when they eventually get broadcast.
No stress in the land of let’s pretend (apart from getting to and from location) just take it as it comes and enjoy every moment.
I muddled along in that way for so many years, making friends, acquaintances and connections along the way. The daily pay rates were getting higher as the roles became more specialised or challenging.
Things always tend to come full circle for me.
One day I found myself driving along the A34, with my hands starting to shake. I focussed on the directions displayed on my satnav, excitement and trepidation in equal measure. You have reached your destination!!! HMP Reading. The place was decommissioned as a prison during austerity measures and has been earmarked for redevelopment. Certain parts of the building have been protected through listed status, including the original Reading Gaol wings as referenced by Oscar Wilde during his incarceration for homosexuality back in the 19th Century.
I was booked for a TV role and, as usual, did not receive the details for location and call time until the previous evening.
You set off, key in the postcode, and head off. You arrive on location, and throw yourself into whatever group of people you find there, with an open mind as to what you will be asked to over the day. For this role I had a good idea as to the content because I had previously been sent for a costume fitting, rigged out in a highly glamorous prison outfit, with a jaunty patterned headscarf that the costume ladies had carefully dyed to look sufficiently drab and Russian. Hair and make up tests were more of a deconstruction than an attempt to transform me into something different. We would be playing prisoners in a grim Russian prison for a brand new big budget drama series commissioned by BBC America (more on that later).
Walking back into a Victorian prison, for the first time since tragic events 10 years earlier had ended my career as a prison officer in real life, put me in a state of emotional confusion. Various aspects of my life were merging, and it was essentially down to me to deal with my emotions and acknowledge how far life had brought me. I had been given the tools to survive through hours of painstaking therapy at the home of the amazing Jayne Bell. Events over the past few years had left me with PTSD. It’s an invisible condition, more often associated with soldiers returning from war zones, it can blight the life of anyone who has the misfortune to encounter trauma that challenges and shifts their whole perception of who they are and how they fit into the world. Fight or flight reactions are magnified, emotions are all over the place. You are left as a vulnerable shell of the person you are, with little sense of what appropriate reactions are to situations that now make you uncomfortable. Avoiding trigger situations is an exhausting way to live, especially when you are so scrambled from whatever left you with the condition. Is it a memory, is it a scent, a piece of music, a voice, or a feeling of not being in control but not knowing why, or how to get out of it.
Jayne had spent weeks pushing me to unpick life as I had known it prior to the events that had led me to need her help. She had helped me to understand that there was very little I would ever be able to do to change past events. She gave me the mental toolbox to have confidence in my own feelings at any moment in time. She had pretty much given me permission to not be scared of losing control. Giving me that clarity of vision in who I am in the here and now, rather than my tendency to try to fit other people’s expectations of me, was all I needed to remind myself as I walked up the steps towards the room set aside for costume and make up. I was having an internal dialogue as I moved around that location. Yes, I had been a prison officer, but not today, not anymore. Focus on the here and now Jo, who are you today? Embrace the experience today, it’s not the same. Jayne would be proud of you,
Nick would be proud of you, you ARE proud of you, enjoy every minute.
Two days filming on that location helped me lay a lot of ghosts to rest as I walked landings and corridors identical to those that I used to patrol in my previous life.
I had found my work as a prison officer to be very rewarding and well suited to my adaptable personality. There are obviously the rigid structures and procedures of the prison regime, but no hour of any day would be the same. I have always thrived in unpredictable situations that require quick thinking and the ability to assess a situation and act on a moments notice.
The whole world within the prison system is either misunderstood or overlooked by those on the outside. You can be face to face with the worst or best from society, People's lives are in your hands, verbal and nonverbal communication are equally important to ensure that the environment is safe for everyone, be they staff, prisoner, family member or visitor. My acting skills served me well in this career path, the ability to convey authority and latent power while diffusing a dangerous situation without the need for physical confrontation was a speciality.
My career in uniform, rather than in costume, faltered and eventually became untenable. My younger brother found himself on the wrong side of the prison wall, he was serving a short sentence for cultivation of cannabis. The difference in our personalities became evident, with tragic results. While I confidently dealt with the prisoners issues at one prison, he found himself panic stricken and terrified behind his cell door less than a mile away. He couldn't cope and was failed by the regime that was responsible for his welfare.
Standing in a cell containing double bunk beds identical to the ones used by my brother to take his own life in HMP Camp Hill in 2007. Standing out in the exercise yard, playing the role of a brooding and intimidating prisoner. This cathartic experience enabled me to appreciate the Victorian architecture and take in all the small details of this secretive world behind the prison walls.
I am so thankful to the production company for selecting me to play my small part in this drama. So many parts of life colliding in one situation. I took the time out to visit the cell that broke the spirit of Oscar Wilde. Said a few words in his memory. He will live on through his work, and life will go on for me with increased determination to seize every moment and appreciate every opportunity.
Most years I have lived through resemble an out of control juggernaut, with unexpected twists and bumps in the road.
Someone once said he pictured my life as one of those scenes from the Pink Panther films. I am the Inspector Clouseau character strolling along while chaos reigns all around.
My private life always had a tendency to whip round and punch me in the face at times. I chose to still be around, and I guess the sheer fact that I am now taking the time to reflect and write down my rememberings means that I might almost dare to say that I am pretty much exactly where I want to be.
