LIGHTS, PROSTHETICS, CAMERAS, ACTION!

Ever wondered why the battle victims, bitten zombies and injured soldiers you saw in Gladiator, Shaun of the Dead and Saving Private Ryan looked so realistic? Perhaps it’s because they were played by real amputees...

The blood and gore isn’t everyone’s cup of tea,” explains Darren Swift. “But it’s not harrowing in any way, it’s just amazing really. Everything is very realistic.” In case you’ve not figured it out yet, Darren is talking about his work as a background artiste (an extra to you and me) which has seen him involved in productions like Children of Men and Band of Brothers. Darren, or Swifty as he’s better known,
works with specialist extras agency Amputees in Action, which gives amputees the opportunity to work in films, television productions and casualty simulations. The agency was set up three years ago by a group of amputees who were frustrated that their talents weren’t being utilised to their full potential by mainstream agents. They decided to go it alone, and now have more than 60 extras on their books.

STARS IN THEIR EYES
John Pickup is one of the founding members of Amputees in Action and has been involved in many different productions. His arm was blown off in 28 Weeks Later, while in Atonement, as a casualty of war on a hospital ward, John is virtually unrecognisable thanks to impressive make-up which took four and a half hours to apply.

John lost his right arm above the elbow in 1986 in a motorcycle accident and was first approached to work as an extra while competing as a sprinter with the British Paralympic team. Since that day in 1997, he’s never looked back. “My favourite thing to work on was Saving Private Ryan,” explains John. “It was the first film I’d done and was a real eye-opener. I’d never been on a film set, let alone a big budget Hollywood smash. Working with people like Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks was quite a privilege.” Since then, John has had the opportunity to work with Oliver Reid and Richard Harris, who he met while filming Gladiator and describes as “perfect gentlemen, real professionals”. He’s also appeared in a Robbie Williams video, posed for world-famous photographer David Bailey and worked with illusionist Derren Brown.

Performing as an extra can provide plenty of opportunities to rub shoulders with the stars, which can be one of the most rewarding parts of the job. Fellow Amputees in Action founder Paul Burns has worked both in front of and behind the camera, and particularly relished the chance to meet Angelina Jolie on the set of Tomb Raider. While serving with the Parachute Regiment in Northern Ireland, Paul was injured at the infamous Warrenpoint massacre in 1979 but stayed with the Army despite losing his left leg below the knee. He went on to join the Parachute Regiment Free Fall Team and it was his expertise in this field that led to the encounter with the glamorous Ms Jolie, as Paul was involved with creating harnesses for Tomb Raider with the film’s stunt team. “Angelina had a really nice personality and was very down to earth. It’s nice to see that side of people,” he says.

But working in the film industry is not all glitz and glamour: “So often the pressure is on and you can’t really chat to people on set,” Paul explains. As an extra, there can also be a lot of waiting around. A recent shoot for Elizabeth sequel Golden Age saw Paul arrive on set at 6am, spend two hours in make-up and hang about until he was required on set at 6pm. “I couldn’t do a lot,” explains Paul, “because I was made-up with no leg on so I couldn’t go very far! You have to be able to cope with that and keep a smile on your face. It’s not easy in that respect.”

Swifty makes the most of any downtime on set: “I busy myself and go and annoy people, asking them questions. I’ll go and chat to a lighting man and ask ‘what does that do, what’s that for, how does that work?’ I’m a pain in the backside really.” He is a double leg amputee and normally walks on short prosthetic pylons which attach to his stumps, but admits that access on set can be a problem. When he’s made-up he often has to use a wheelchair but cables, chains and equipment lying all over the floor can make it difficult to get about. “Generally,” he says, “the people there are happy to pick you up and put you down to make life as easy as possible. But if someone’s interested in getting into this, they have to be aware that accessibility can be an issue.”

SOLDIERING ON
Many of the people involved in Amputees in Action are ex-military, which goes some way to explaining why they don’t mind being jostled around on set and take little issue with being covered in special effects to recreate a gory injury or sickening wound. A former dog handler with the Royal Green Jackets, Swifty lost his legs and a couple of fingers in Northern Ireland. Fully conscious when he was blown up, he has clear memories of what it looked like when he was injured so there have been some strange times on set, as he explains: “Both Paul and I have been in make-up and uniform for something like Band of Brothers, looked down at ourselves and thought ‘my god – it looks exactly like it did when we got blown up’. But we just crack on.” This attitude is something common to many of the extras at Amputees in Action, the majority of whom involve themselves in all manner of very physical activities – Swifty is a fan of snowboarding, Paul loves skydiving and sailing, and John is a talented runner and martial arts enthusiast, and has rarely been off a motorcycle since re-taking his test in 1998.

Although it sounds like a bit of a boy’s club, Amputees in Action is open to all amputees, whether they have any acting experience or not, and the agency is keen to welcome more women. “We’re trying to build the company and push it forward to give amputees opportunities at things they’ve never done before,” explains John. “It’s a good social network and very cathartic. If someone’s recently lost a limb it can be an effective part of their rehabilitation – they meet us guys and they realise they can get on and do things.”

STRENGTH OF CHARACTER
One determined individual who really embodies the spirit of Amputees in Action is Peggy Simmons. She lost her left leg above the knee during an air raid in London in 1944. Working as a driver for the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force at the time, Peggy was determined to soldier on. “When I got out of hospital I decided I wanted to do most of the things I’d done before,” says Peggy, “which were dancing, cycling, riding, driving and a few other things. When I was sufficiently au fait with my prosthetic leg, the Air Force said they’d give me an office job, but I’d joined up as a driver so didn’t want to do that. They let me take another test which I passed so I worked in London until the end of the war. As far as I know, I was the only servicewoman amputee driver.” Peggy is now 83 and is still fit and active. As well as starring in the forthcoming BBC film Stuart: A Life Backwards, she has recently taken part in a body flight (similar to skydiving but done in a wind tunnel) with some of the friends she’s made through Amputees in Action, appeared as a contestant on The Weakest Link and tried out abseiling, canoeing and archery.

So far, the appearance in Stuart: A Life Backwards is the only role Peggy has secured through Amputees in Action – and unfortunately it wasn’t the most demanding of jobs. “When I got there, some of the amputees were hopping about on crutches and some were in wheelchairs. I asked the director what he wanted me to do. I don’t know if he realised I was an amputee but he said ‘just sit there and look out of the window’ and that’s all I did,” she admits.
But she’s looking forward to the opportunity to try something more dramatic in the future.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE
One thing Peggy hasn’t involved herself in is the jobs Amputees in Action do with the military. In addition to film and TV work, the agency provides ‘bodies’ for casualty simulation projects, which train medics who are about to go to Afghanistan or Iraq in how to deal with realistic injuries out in the field. “The agency hasn’t found a slot for me to do a simulation,” explains Peggy. “You have to lie around in the mud and everything and they wouldn’t put me through that.”

For guys like Paul and Swifty, casualty simulation offers an opportunity to reunite with the world of the military. “I sit there wondering why I’m in the mud and cold, covered in fake blood, moaning and groaning and making it as real as possible,” says Paul. “But the reward is the reaction you get – we’ve had pukers and I’ve had a couple of people walk away shaking. It’s only an exercise scenario but you know what you’re doing is going to help them save people’s lives later because they’ve been desensitised. The big reason I do it is because I came through the same system. That system saved my life and put me back on the road, so it’s nice to give something back.”

That’s just one reason people get involved with Amputees in Action. Another is the fact that these amputees feel they might as well take advantage of their situation. “We’re a bit mercenary about it,” jokes Swifty. “We’ve got no legs, so why not make the most of it?” Other members, like Paul, are motivated by the need to get on with life: “Because of what happened to me, dealing with the blood and guts side of it is a bit like getting back on a horse. It’s like sticking my finger up at the IRA and saying ‘you might have tried to kill me but I’m back on my feet and I’m coping’.”

For Peggy Simmons, who is a humanist, taking part in Amputees in Action is about living life to the full: “I believe we are born, we live and we die, that’s it. We only have one life so we might as well make the most of it!”

FURTHER INFORMATION

Amputees in Action
01635 318 90
www.amputeesinaction.co.uk

September/October 2007.