Call Time 7am
Up until the point I got the call from the agent at 2020 Casting about Vanity Fair, my experience of working in film and TV was Casualty. Don't get me wrong, being an extra on Casualty was great, but it wasn't a Hollywood movie. Vanity Fair was.
My call time was 7am, the location, Wrotham Park, was on the outskirts of North London. I lived 120 miles away. So I woke at 3am, showered, got dressed and drove bleary eyed and make-up free down the M4 to London. I arrived early at Wrotham Park and was directed to park up alongside the set trailers and crew buses. I already had butterflies in my stomach but I began to feel even more nervous when I discovered I was one of only six Supporting Artists - pretty special when shoots can often have up to 200 extras booked.
The six of us signed in and were taken down to the house by Candy, the third assistant director. The house, set in acres of parkland, is privately owned and is often hired out for film and TV productions. Gosford Park was filmed there. Candy led us through a maze of corridors to a section of the house that had been turned into makeshift hair and make-up studios. I was squeezed, tugged, pulled and eventually sewn into a rib crushing corset and elegant 19th Century dress with a cranberry red train.
Two hours in hair and make-up turned me into a 19th Century lady. My hair was twisted around dozens of heated rollers and doused with a bottle of hairspray. Pale foundation and powder was dabbed on my face, two pink dots of blusher were rubbed into my cheeks and my lips were painted red. The rollers were removed to reveal a head full of spiral curls. Nimble hands teased and nudged wild curls into place, and with a final squirt of hairspray and a few feathers clipped in place, my hair was not only perfect but it weighed a tonne.
My call time was 7am, the location, Wrotham Park, was on the outskirts of North London. I lived 120 miles away. So I woke at 3am, showered, got dressed and drove bleary eyed and make-up free down the M4 to London. I arrived early at Wrotham Park and was directed to park up alongside the set trailers and crew buses. I already had butterflies in my stomach but I began to feel even more nervous when I discovered I was one of only six Supporting Artists - pretty special when shoots can often have up to 200 extras booked.
The six of us signed in and were taken down to the house by Candy, the third assistant director. The house, set in acres of parkland, is privately owned and is often hired out for film and TV productions. Gosford Park was filmed there. Candy led us through a maze of corridors to a section of the house that had been turned into makeshift hair and make-up studios. I was squeezed, tugged, pulled and eventually sewn into a rib crushing corset and elegant 19th Century dress with a cranberry red train.
Two hours in hair and make-up turned me into a 19th Century lady. My hair was twisted around dozens of heated rollers and doused with a bottle of hairspray. Pale foundation and powder was dabbed on my face, two pink dots of blusher were rubbed into my cheeks and my lips were painted red. The rollers were removed to reveal a head full of spiral curls. Nimble hands teased and nudged wild curls into place, and with a final squirt of hairspray and a few feathers clipped in place, my hair was not only perfect but it weighed a tonne.
On the Set of Vanity Fair
At 10am, after three hours spent in hair and make-up, we were called on to set and introduced to the film's director, Mira Nair. Cameras and lighting equipment and dozens of crew were squeezed into a corner of a long drawing room. A log fire roared in the fireplace, lit candles were dotted throughout the room, paintings adorned the walls and a large table in the centre of the room was strewn with drawings. My heart thumped with nerves as we were ushered into our first positions, and I suddenly realised I was standing next to Reese Witherspoon. I thought I would be star struck, but actually I wasn't, after all I was doing my job same as her - although her wage packet was slightly larger...
We rehearsed the scene. I found myself walking down the length of the room with one of the principal actors, Alexandra Staden (Lady George), towards the table where the other ladies were gathered, admiring the drawings. Excitement bubbled in the pit of my stomach as Reese Witherspoon as Becky Sharp joined us and we all snubbed her and waltzed off to the window seats. I had no lines, but I did get to make some fabulous facial expressions. Mira Nair called cut and we reset to first positions and shot the scene again, before the camera angle was changed and the process was repeated over and over again.
It was incredible the amount of time it took to shoot just the one scene and the attention that was paid to the smallest details. After each take the candles were extinguished to ensure continuity. Every movement and position was marked and noted. In between takes the make-up and costume ladies did checks. Powder was brushed over my hot cheeks and deft fingers checked curls before more hairspray was applied.
Lunch was interesting. We ate at tables set up in a double decker bus. This wasn't easy with an extra foot of feathers protruding from my head. The corset was so restrictive I couldn't eat much and just picked through an unladylike plate of chicken curry and rice.
After lunch I stood in for one of the principle actors, while the crew lit the scene. It saved time using an extra like me and meant the principles could have a break from filming. I thought it was great. Not only did I get to see what was happening on set and say a few lines, but I was also one of the first to see Gabriel Byrne arrive looking every inch the fine gentleman.
We rehearsed the scene. I found myself walking down the length of the room with one of the principal actors, Alexandra Staden (Lady George), towards the table where the other ladies were gathered, admiring the drawings. Excitement bubbled in the pit of my stomach as Reese Witherspoon as Becky Sharp joined us and we all snubbed her and waltzed off to the window seats. I had no lines, but I did get to make some fabulous facial expressions. Mira Nair called cut and we reset to first positions and shot the scene again, before the camera angle was changed and the process was repeated over and over again.
It was incredible the amount of time it took to shoot just the one scene and the attention that was paid to the smallest details. After each take the candles were extinguished to ensure continuity. Every movement and position was marked and noted. In between takes the make-up and costume ladies did checks. Powder was brushed over my hot cheeks and deft fingers checked curls before more hairspray was applied.
Lunch was interesting. We ate at tables set up in a double decker bus. This wasn't easy with an extra foot of feathers protruding from my head. The corset was so restrictive I couldn't eat much and just picked through an unladylike plate of chicken curry and rice.
After lunch I stood in for one of the principle actors, while the crew lit the scene. It saved time using an extra like me and meant the principles could have a break from filming. I thought it was great. Not only did I get to see what was happening on set and say a few lines, but I was also one of the first to see Gabriel Byrne arrive looking every inch the fine gentleman.
It's a Wrap
The day's filming didn't wrap until 9pm. I'd been awake for 18 hours. The corset was pinching into my sides and my whole body ached. I was both impressed and touched when Mira Nair, who had asked my name more than 10 hours before remembered me and said thank you before I left the set.
We headed back down to costume and I was cut out of my dress and released from my corset. My black combats, vest top and trainers felt so comfortable after wearing an 1840's costume all day. I was relieved to have the dozens of hairpins that had been digging into my head taken out and the feathers removed.
After 14 hours of filming I was tired and I still had a two and a half hour drive home. I sat in my car and phoned my husband. I couldn't stop grinning as I told him about my day... Reese, my hair, the corset, the pain... I stopped 50 miles from home and had a very strong cup of coffee in Membury services and only then noticed that my curly hair - rigid from all the hairspray - was sticking out in all directions.
I would happily have paid for the experience of a day's filming on Vanity Fair, let alone earn money from having my hair and make-up done, dressing up in an incredible costume and acting alongside Hollywood stars. Two weeks later I found myself doing the Polka on the set of a BBC costume drama The Young Visitor's, alongside Hugh Laurie (House) and Bill Nighy (Love Actually). Did I mention that I can't dance?
We headed back down to costume and I was cut out of my dress and released from my corset. My black combats, vest top and trainers felt so comfortable after wearing an 1840's costume all day. I was relieved to have the dozens of hairpins that had been digging into my head taken out and the feathers removed.
After 14 hours of filming I was tired and I still had a two and a half hour drive home. I sat in my car and phoned my husband. I couldn't stop grinning as I told him about my day... Reese, my hair, the corset, the pain... I stopped 50 miles from home and had a very strong cup of coffee in Membury services and only then noticed that my curly hair - rigid from all the hairspray - was sticking out in all directions.
I would happily have paid for the experience of a day's filming on Vanity Fair, let alone earn money from having my hair and make-up done, dressing up in an incredible costume and acting alongside Hollywood stars. Two weeks later I found myself doing the Polka on the set of a BBC costume drama The Young Visitor's, alongside Hugh Laurie (House) and Bill Nighy (Love Actually). Did I mention that I can't dance?
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