Life as a Supporting Artist

One of our Year 9 students, Isaac, has been doing some supporting artist work recently, and he tells us what a typical day would look like for him:

“Having loved drama for a long time, I decided I would like to be a supporting artist. My mum gets an email when there is work asking if I am available and I have been lucky enough to be chosen for several productions, including Fool Me Once which was launched on Netflix on 1st January. When filming, my day can start really early, sometimes at 5am as I need to be on set for 7am! On arrival, I head down to costume, and then to hair and makeup: hairspray is crucial if filming outside on a windy day! Then it’s down to a place called the Green Room where I wait to get called up to set. First, we go through the blocking of the scene. This is basically what happens in the scene, then we film the scene. It can take up to an hour to film each scene depending on how many different takes and views they want. There is a lot of waiting around between scenes, so I have learnt lots of new card games whilst passing the time with the other supporting artists! One tip I picked up is to have hand warmers when filming in the winter – I saw a main cast member doing this and then the costume department decided everyone could have some. Although the days are long, I enjoy the job! Look out for me on CBBC and BBC in the coming months.”