It's not every day that you get a phone call saying that a very famous director has specifically picked you from a photo to work as an extra in his latest Hollywood movie. This is what happened to me just over eighteen months ago. An extra, you may say? Just an extra? Believe me, I would have worked as 2nd, 2nd assistant runner if it meant I would get just one glimpse of the fantastic and legendary film director that is Martin Scorsese, at work!
So my summer of fun, laughter, blood, sweat, and even some tears working on Hugo, began. Firstly I learnt what 'threading' was, as my eye brows were plucked and shaped within an inch of their lives. My long brown hair was cut into a short 1930's bob, and I was forbidden from getting a suntan on the few days we had off. We were played old black and white Pathe films of train stations and commuters and the sort of characters we would be portraying. We were taught to walk like 1930's ladies, and were dressed by Oscar winning costume designer Sandy Powell as if we were principle actors - an account of the fact that the story mainly unfolds in the train station and we could be featured. We had to wear real fur coats, during a heatwave, tight high heels, and hats that came down so low, you often couldn't see. We worked on average 12 hours per day, and spent more days on set with the cast and crew than at home with our families. Indeed someone stuck up a piece of paper in hair and make-up that read: "I have no life!"
Every few weeks some of us had to have our hair cut again - nothing like having a hair cut at 6am - believe me, you don't chat about your next holiday, or if you are going out that night (we weren't..) you close your eyes and sleep. I fell in love with my make-up lady Pam who would see me at my worst, make me laugh and let me use her posh hand cream! I was slightly devastated when she left suddenly to go to be with Johnny Depp on the next Pirates of the Caribbean. She was soon replaced by Anna, whom I rushed to see every morning to be made beautiful with Ruby Woo lipstick and have a gossip and a giggle about important things, like boys. I developed a huge crush on my silent French hair stylist Julio - who on account of the language barrier, soothed my irritability and tiredness in the pre-dawn mornings with his soft hands and rendered me literally speechless as he painstakingly pin curled my hair.
On set, we were entertained by Fraiser, the 2nd assistant director who lifted our spirits when we were tired and not just because he had the most stylish 3D glasses and wore pink socks. On stifling hot summer days when we feared we might faint from all the running about set in our wintry costumes, Christian the 3rd assistant crowd director would regal us with funny stories of filming with 5,000 extras in films such as Rise of the Planet of the Apes, in more than 40 degrees heat.
Now I am not a big dog fan and have a huge fear of some, but I often had to stand next to one of the three Doberman that were playing the station master's dog. It was here that I learnt patience, for every time they were told to sit, they would stand and vice versa. The boy dogs rarely did as they were told - much to their trainers' embarrassment. It was then that they would bring on the girl dog, who was the perfect doggy actress. As the weeks grew into months, I grew fond of them and one used to acknowledge me each day with a lick as she went past! Because of 'continuity' I was often placed up near the dog and Asa Butterfield, who plays Hugo Cabret, so therefore it meant I was next to Scorsese himself. It was amazing and a joy to be able to see how he directed both the two children and how they responded so well to him. He didn't particularly speak to us personally, but was observing us at all times, and on a couple of days his pa took our favourite Scorsese dvds and he signed them for us.
There is so much more I could write about the wonderful summer I spent with Scorsese, (like the day, one of the extras slipped and fell down, and we all suddenly got 'stunt money', for walking up and down the station stairs in heels), but this I will keep for my book (which I promise myself every day I will write..).
Hope you enjoy the film just as much as I did making it!
J x
