Wolverhampton actor lifts the lid on the world of being an extra

Arun Kapur may be a mild-mannered duty manager at Wolverhampton's Light House Media Centre, but in his now not-so-secret life on screen, he can boast credits alongside Pulp Fiction star Tim Roth as well as in popular soaps Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Doctors.

The 26-year-old from Fordhouses told the Express and Star how he got into working as a supporting artist.

He said: "I started off working for the BBC as a production runner, I did that for 18 months.

"A colleague of mine offered me a chance to get involved in some extras' work in Doctors on BBC One in Birmingham.

"Now I'm doing a lot more travelling for more work.

"I was lucky enough to get a week and a half as a Sepoy soldier on a film called Black Prince, which is starring Jason Flemyng and David Essex.

"I've been in Corrie, Emmerdale, Made In Chelsea and a couple of Bollywood films that haven't been released yet."

He's also appeared as a zombie in an independent film called Case Files by Tricell Films.

He added: "When I first started off I thought it could just be something part time to keep me busy.

"But I found that I really enjoyed it, it's a completely different lifestyle to your average nine-to-five."

That's certainly one way of describing picking up a gun and going to war in the streets of Liverpool as an Iraqi terrorist.

In the film Reg, which is due out this year and stars Roth in the lead role as Reg Keys, a man who lost his son in the Iraq War and then went on to contest Tony Blair's seat at Sedgefield in the 2005 General Election, Arun plays a terrorist, and admitted it was a nerve-wracking feeling to undertake such a role.

He said: "I was in a fight with the English. It was staged in Liverpool.

"It was a bit dodgy, they had to cordon off an area for us to film in but there were still people walking past.

"There were security guards there telling people 'look, it's not real, it's a film'.

"They gave us proper guns. It was prepared and set up really well, but it was still a bit nerve-wracking."

The role of the extra gained prominence in Britain in the mid-2000s thanks to Ricky Gervais' comedy Extras. The hit BBC show followed the fortunes of Gervais' character Andy Millman as he rises from journeyman extra to TV star.

A recurring theme throughout the series is Millman's clashes with various stars, including Hollywood A-listers Ben Stiller, Kate Winslet and Samuel L Jackson.

And Arun admits that although he is told is to remain professional in front of the big names, there have been occasions when he has found himself starstruck. "When I first started out I was always told to be professional and remember to treat it like a job.

"I was told not to talk or distract the actors, or ask for photos and autographs. You can say hello to them if it's the end of filming or if it's a convenient time.

"When David Essex was on set in Black Prince, I found it very strange that this big singer was there in front of me. And Jason Flemyng, because I've seen quite a few of his movies.

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"In one film there was a guy called Ranbir Kapoor – in Bollywood, he's massive. That time I was genuinely starstruck, that's the moment it hit home to me what I was doing.

"His father was a famous actor and now he is. I always said when I was a younger that I would act with him so to be on screen with him is a bit of a dream come true."

Arun hasn't had many opportunities to chat to any of his famous co-stars, but he said: "Other less well-known actors have told me just to speak to as many people as I can, try and do as much work as I can and get my name known.

"I hope that I can show that people can still be based here but be successful and do what they want to do in life.

"People all think you have to move away from Wolverhampton. Whenever you hear Wolverhampton it's all doom and gloom, but it is a great place to be."

Arun is signed up to a number of agencies in cities up and down the country including Derby, Manchester and London.

But it's not all fun and games. He added: "It can be very hard work. On one film we were due to finish at 8pm but were still outside filming at 8am the following day in the cold with hardly anything on.

"I've never really prepared myself for an acting career, but I'm trying to get into it now.

"I'm doing so many jobs at the moment and just trying to get as much exposure as possible.

"From a young age I thought it was just a pipe dream, but I really want to make a go of it now."