Work as an Extra on Who &
Torchwood
Have you ever wondered
what it was like to be on set of Torchwood or Doctor Who, or to play a
character in the background of an impressive set, which would be seen by
millions of people every week? Well John R Walker is one of those lucky people
who worked as an Extra on the set of Doctor Who & Torchwood and many other
shows in between. He’s been up close to
both John Barrowman AND David Tennant’s characters on set of both shows, and we
had the opportunity of finding out a little bit more about the impressive
career of an Extra – ordinary bloke!
You’ve
got quite an impressive IMDB credit list, not just as an extra but also as
associate producer and first assistant director. How did it all start, what was the first
production you became involved in and what is it about being in front of and
behind the camera that appeals to you the most?
John:
Well my first role as an extra was on a straight to video
production called “Auton 2” directed
by Nick Briggs! I have always been a
Doctor Who fan and the show was long finished and I expected it to never come
back so when Bill Baggs advertised
in SFX for extras to be in his new
production I couldn't say no. This was my one chance to be a part of Who. This
was back in 1998 and from there I joined a local agency.
It was different back then as there wasn't any internet like
there is today and information was a lot harder to come by. Luckily someone
knew of a local agency and gave me the contact telephone number.
In my real life I worked for Retail Operations at Head office for
Safeway and had made a few training videos for the stores so when we got taken
over by Morrisons I became Head of
Internal Corporate films for that company so that's how I got into the
production side of things.
I took voluntary redundancy in 2008 and was approached by Tony Jopia who was making a TV pilot
for CITV called “Spooked”
I had initially been asked to play a small role in it but as
I was jobless Tony offered me production Design. I had no idea what I was doing
and it was a massive learning curve for me.
I then went on to 1st AD several short films and
finally my first feature “Deadtime”
Again Tony had given me the opportunity to do something and
this time I did a much better job. I still learnt so much off him.
From doing that job I was recommended by someone to 1st
AD an Indian Film called “Argen and
Alison” and so on and so forth.
You’ve
appeared in several episodes of Doctor Who what was it like being on set with
David Tennant, Billie Piper and Freema Agyeman, and were you also on set with
Catherine Tate?
John:
Okay, I'll start with Billie. She
was always polite and spoke to everyone and I used to see her on set quite a
lot on "Lewis" but I've never really chatted with her apart from
polite Hellos and the odd line but I was so excited when I first saw her on
set. (What am I saying?, I still get excited when ever I see her)
David
was lovely. He is such a funny man and so nice to us extras. What was weird is
that when I first saw him playing the Doctor in real life before he'd been the
Doctor on TV, I actually didn't like him. We'd just got Who back and Eccleston
had done such an amazing job of playing the role for a 21st Century audience so
I was still a little miffed he'd gone!
David has gone on to become one of my favourite Who’s (along
with Patrick Troughton and Sylvester McCoy) but I've been lucky enough to chat
to him lots on set and he's happy to talk about the show.
Freema
and I spoke lots on the set of "Daleks
in Manhattan" and again she'd yet to be on TV so was very down to
Earth.
I'd done a show called "On the Home Front" for one of the History channels and we
talked about that. I sent her a copy and to my amazement she not only watched
it but when she met my partner (who was also in Home front) she remembered her
name!
Freema still makes the effort to speak when I see her. I did
several "Law and Order"
episodes and bumped into her many times and she's so down to earth and lovely.
(new series best companion is either her or Billie, though I don't know and I'm
not sure if I loved her as Martha or simply love her as Freema!)
Now Catherine was
nothing like I expected her to be like. I did "Planet of the Ood" with her and spent 2 months on "Gulliver’s Travels" with her.
She's very shy and quiet on set. Some extras mistook this as rude but she's not
by any means. If you make the effort to speak to her, she'll always be polite
and nice but she's quiet on set with everyone until the cameras start rolling.
I'm a massive fan of her own show. I would have loved to have
been on that but I did Who with her so please don't think I'm moaning...I'm
just greedy.
I like to think I can keep a straight face through most
things but there was this one scene in "Ood" that she was talking to Paul Kasey in an Ood costume and
she says something like" What makes you think I'm a miss, do I look like a
miss?" and I laughed all through the rehearsal!
How
many different episodes were you involved in for Doctor Who?
John:
I did The Christmas Invasion, New Earth,
Shakespeare Code, Daleks in Manhattan, Evolution of the Daleks, Planet of the
Ood, Turn Left and Closing Time.
You
were a body double for James Marsters, dressed in his military clothes and
facing Captain Jack Harkness, how long did that scene take to do?
John:
That scene took about 4 hours I would say at a guess. It was the reverse of
James Marsters and I had to watch the original footage over and over to get all
the movements to match.
I was there a lot longer than that though as I had to wait a
while for another scene to be completed and Make-up did my face and hair but left
my beard on, I was taken to the director who liked the fact my cheek structure
was close enough that he could cheat me around toward camera little more so I
had to go back and lose the beard. Costume put me in full uniform and props
gave me all the weapons and the belt and everything simply for what ended up
being the back of my head and my cheek.
There were Sontarans running around on the base. That was
cool! (They shared the base with Who)
On
Random Shoes you played Eugene’s dead self on the side of the road in the grass
verge, I’m imagining that that was probably shot a few times, I hope the grass
wasn’t too wet?
John:
The grass was VERY wet added to the
fact I had blood poured into my ear many times!
That was a fantastic experience. I spent a good few days on
this episode but on that particular day (Director) James let me find my own
position to be comfortable with and the earlier parts of the scene was filmed
later (The accident itself) though I remember initially he wanted me facing the
river but due to the angles they couldn't get away from the fact I wasn't Paul
Chequer. It was a long day of lying in the grass and it started to pour down
that day.
Also, a pointless fact was that they had the paint under my
nails to say what colour the car was that hit me but it was changed at a later
scene (filmed earlier) so 2 colours were used and JB did the scene with either
colour. I guess they hadn't decided on the stunt car colour at that time.
You
were involved in Children of Earth, whereabouts were you in that series, and
the hospital at the end of Miracle Day?
John: Children of Earth.
We're (about 5 of us) in a tiny office tracking Captain Jack. We're in the
background (Well we are extras) talking about Tractors and wondering why our
High Tech office has so many tractor photos in it! A couple of the other extras
in that scene are regular Monsters in the show.
Miracle Day.
I'm wearing my own black flat cap and outside the hospital in Wales. Blink and
you'll miss both but I didn't mind as I had been a double in the first 2 series
so it was great to finally be an extra in the 3rd and 4th.
I was asked to come back for another scene but got cancelled.
This happens a few times on lots of shows but it really breaks my heart when
it's Who related (and it did when I lost Fast and Furious 6)
I had been asked once to have my head shaved for the bar
scene in DT's last episode as a "Whitey" but I got
"Postponed". I'm still waiting for that call back.
I had to turn down being in 2 of the specials due to other
work commitments.
Do
you think having a nondescript face that you’re more likely to land roles than
having a face people will recognise?
John:
Okay, I'm quoted as saying I have a nondescript face but then I seem to
contradict myself when I say I tend to get a lot of "Slimy" roles due
to my large forehead and slitty eyes! My feature roles are always as bad
people. (My current role in a BBC production-"Not Doctor Who" is as a
KGB agent.
So back to you question. I don't think it matters as long as
you are professional at all times on set. Extras aren't really noticed in many
shows. it's only show we watch over and over again that we get noticed..usually
the Science Fiction market.
Landing
parts in Doctor Who and then turning up for work back on the meat counter in
Tesco’s, what do your work colleague’s think to your other life?
John: The whole Meat Counter thing was a sales pitch for my
book. It sort of worked as I got some serious press (Simply google the word TV
EXTRA and see who's the first person’s name you see) but I got all the press
and my book got none (Now look up Dave Gorman and my name to see what he said
about this)
I was Head-office Safeway and Morrisons with a VERY
understanding boss and then when I left I had planned to make corporates for a
living but I just kept being offered TV Extra work and it just came and came so
I ended up working 6-7 days a week as an extra for 4 years straight.
I gave up Extra work to work more seriously on projects and
now I'm getting a few acting roles and this is really challenging me and again
I have contradicted myself as I have always said Extras shouldn’t try to act.
To fund this I have taken a job as Counters Managers at a Tesco
Extra store in Dudley so I haven't really done much that the staff would see me
on TV much. They know I used to do it and a few spot me in old shows on TV but
no one really says much to me about it.
I think they're all scared I'll try and sell them my
books!
How
far have you travelled to appear in productions?
John:
Beside the cheeky day I did the Disney film "Enchanted" as I was
already in New York with my friends?
I based myself in London and Dudley but travelled somewhere
every day. I worked from York to Cardiff, Dover, Bournemouth and the like so
some days did easily over 300 mile round trips. Some jobs never even paid well
but I never said no. As long as I was free I would do the first job I was
booked on and never cancel a job for better one as that's why the work kept
coming and coming.
There are very few real full Time extras but I would see them
from town to town.
Fuel was the biggest cost of the job.
From
being an Extra to now turning up on set as an actor, how much of a difference
is it for you and do you miss being an Extra?
John:
I have still secretly done the odd extra job every now and again and I have started
to love it again.
I had got to a point
where I was starting to hate being an extra.
It was so depressing
sometimes as I'd travel 170 miles to simply walk in the background of some show
and all shows were becoming very much alike but it had become my living and I
had gone from being The Head of corporate films for one of the UK’s biggest
Retail companies to walking around to be a bit of movement and that had now
become my job. It was what defined me. A 40 year old EXTRA.
Whereas now just being on set is fun as I don't need
the money anymore and I'm enjoying it again.
It's something to do on my day off if I haven't an acting
role to learn. Currently I have just landed a nice little role in a horror
Short so this week I'll be learning those lines and because of the other BBC
job the chances are I won't do any more extra work until after Christmas.
Plus I won't travel for it any more or take time off work
specifically. It's going to take a lot of will power to not actively try and
get on Star Wars next year.
I have so contradicted myself again! I'm sure I just wrote
not to do extra work and acting work but it's no harm on a day off and no
matter what I ever do now, I'll always be known as John the Extra. I didn't
help myself by writing about it!.
So in answer to your question, I miss it when I'm not on a
set somewhere and that's why I haven't completely let it go but I don't miss
the job itself and it's so very different now. I can take photos on set , crew
know my name, and there's a little more respect but just this week I saw some
extras I know and refused a costume coat to keep warm as I was worried what
they would think of me. Is that weird? I still sit on the bus until I'm told I
can go to my trailer but I think that's 15 years of conditioning.
I
always thought that landing roles in Doctor Who was very much a closed set, it
was difficult to just walk into a role, how did the work come about and from
being in Doctor Who was it then easier for taking roles in Torchwood?
John:
I was already with the agency that did Doctor Who, I called them and asked if I
could be in the show. They said yes. It was that simple.
I think it's not quite so easy now, I think the more I went
on about it, the more they didn't want to give it me. I'm not sure if this is
the agency or the production company but I've had my fair share. I couldn't
have asked for more. I got my close up, I got to speak my one word, I had a trading card of me and I got to see it
being made. I was there and that can never be taken away from me.
There are so many people with far more exciting stories and
who've been on the show many many more times than me but those are their
stories and these are mine of which I am so delighted.
You
can be out in all temperatures or inside a building playing a scene what has
been the worst experience as an Extra on the set of any production, such as the
weather hampering production, long hours, working through soaked to the skin,
unable to work your fingers because it’s so cold?
John:
The AA commercial in the Peak District back about 8 years ago. It was the worst
job ever and to this day has never been beaten.
I have had many cold and wet days on set but nothing beats
that one.
Even the day we did the shower scene on “New Earth” was a
cold one. The water was so cold and the studio freezing and I started to turn
blue. The crew were great and looked after us though.
It must have rained everyday on the film “Crying wolf” and
most scenes were external but we just had to get on with it and the writer
ended up being called in to change some scenes to internal to protect the cast
and crew a little.
Oh and Captain America. The fake rain was so heavy. TV rain
isn't like real rain as it needs to be heavier drops to be seen by the camera
so we were soaked to the skin but lunch time I simply stripped put a towel on
whist the costume department tried to dry our clothes. Man I couldn't stop
shaking. My mouth actually hurt from shivering so much.
Oh and finally the other one that springs to mind was a night
shoot on “Daleks in Manhattan” where
Hugh Quarshie is telling us that Frank is gone. That was very wet and jolly
cold.
I got sent off “Bone
kickers” for being a shivering corpse! There are too many wet and cold days to mention. But on the
other hand we've had some brilliant hot and fun days out in the sunshine.
Have
you always wanted to be an actor/Extra or did you have other yearnings?
John:
I never wanted to be an extra. I wanted to be a film director. I'll make my own
horror feature one day. Anyone in the Dudley area who wants to produce a low
budget horror flick, get in touch!
What
has been your favourite production to date?
John: DOCTOR WHO.
I love the whole franchise. Who,
Torchwood and Sarah Jane.
Also I loved doing Holby
each week. It's nothing exciting but I just enjoyed that and some random shows
were just so much fun because of who we had on set. Some extras are brilliant
fun to be with. My girlfriend and I spent a few years on Midsomer Murders together and we loved doing that. I don't think anyone
really saw us as we're in the giant condom SOCO outfits complete with masks.
(Only extras need to wear masks at murders, not actors as we wouldn't see their
faces!)
We loved doing Scott
and Bailey (First 2 seasons) and that was because the work looked after my
girlfriend and I through Christmas (A quiet TV time generally) and we got on
with all the cast, crew and extras.
You’re
currently involved in three productions can you tell us anything about them?
John:
Crying Wolf and Cute Little Buggers are 2 horror black comedies that have been my
biggest acting roles to date.
Both directed by Tony Jopia and Crying wolf should be out
next June (14) with CLB the following year.
Also I worked on a very low budget film called Valley of the Demon. I loved the
script, the director, the crew and everything about what this small production
company stood for and they're filming making process.
Although I have a small role in this, my main job is as
Associate Producer and I am there to help promote and sell the project. I love
those guys so much and it was all self funded by people who care about the
project with a passion.
Also, what is not widely known as it's not on the internet
yet is I've been working as 1st AD on a Midlands based film for 5
months. Again, people who make films because they're so passionate about the
end product. I can't really say much more until the director is ready to go
public with it but do look out for “Crying wolf”,”CLB” and “Valley of the
Demon” I think they all have a Facebook
page for updates.
https://www.facebook.com/cryingwolfthemovie?fref=ts (crying Wolf)
https://www.facebook.com/CuteLittleBuggers (Cute Little Buggers)
You’ve
currently written two books about your time as an Extra, can you tell us more
about them?
John:
I'm cheating a little by saying it's 2 books. I wrote “Extra Time” and tried to sell it. No one wanted it as they all said
people are not interested in stories about Extras.
So I self published and got such fantastic press that people
have since been in touch and want it. Too late. It's mine.
I understand I made a few spelling errors though so please
excuse them. I did rush it out last minute and that's the down side of self
publishing!
I have recently had someone ask me if they can do a project
based on the book. (I can't say more as today was our first meeting so I'm in 2
minds but more info as I get it)
The book is simply some adventures on set from when I started
to about the end of 2010 and it’s from the point of view of a Sci Fi fan. It
contains (Nearly) all my Doctor who, Torchwood and Sarah Jane stories.
But the other book “Stories
from a Doctor Who TV Extra” are all the Who related stories re written with
added memories and a serious spell check! I released this really cheap as a
Kindle only but was asked to do it as book form too so I did. (Both available
on Amazon or you can get “Extra Time” from me direct as I'll be at the
“Scardiff” horror convention at the end of October)
Extra Time Second edition will be out in January 2014 and
Extra Time 2 (I'll think of a more original name at some point) will be out mid
next year.
When
you were on set of a production you fell in love with one of the cast, how
often does that happen, what set was that and do you still work in the same
productions or does her work take her further afield?
John:
I try not to fall in love with members of the cast very often. We spent a lot
of time on set together. Some weeks we would be in the hotel, on set and spend
24 hours a day together but now she spends most her time as a TV Chaperone and
so we don't really go to the same productions.
Thank
you again for the interview John
Photo
source
BBC
Doctor Who & Torchwood
Pics taken from:
Doctor
Who
Christmas Invasion
New Earth
Shakespeare Code
Daleks in
Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks
Turn Left
Planet of the Ood
Torchwood
Exit Wounds
Random Shoes
Miracle Day
Although John has
appeared in Sarah Jane Adventures – The Temptation of Sarah Jane Smith and
Doctor Who – Closing Time, Project: Torchwood wasn't able to locate him due to not possessing the DVD's.
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