A day of filming with Robert De Niro…

prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" / Ok, so that’s a bit of a grand title to describe what I’ve just done today, but it’s one way of putting it.

I’ve had the pleasure (and luck) to be able to do a small part in the film that Robert De Niro is shooting in Barcelona.

Called “Red Lights” it also stars Sigourney Weaver and Cillian Murphy, neither of whom I managed to meet unfortunately.

In a small theatre in Barcelona for the last couple of days De NIro has been acting in front of almost 500 extras. Today he had to shoot a scene where he “heals” a person using his powers and for this he needed three assistants, one of which was me!

It has been a long 12 hour day with many special effects and lots of fake blood but De Niro has remained  in good humour but aloof, talking only with the people with whom he had to have direct contact but not totally ignoring everyone else - playing up to the crowd of extras while remaining focussed on his work.

My part in all of this has been to assist him, passing him things that he needed for his healing work – I know that at least my hands are going to be in the film even if my face ends up on the cutting room floor!

And that’s it – if it hadn’t been for the presence of De Niro it would have been a completely normal day of filming but it has turned out to be something to remember for a long time, something I hope to repeat!

Oh, just as an afterword – apparently it’s in his contract not to take photos with the public at large so I haven’t got one of those typical “I met a famous person” photos but I did make sure I shook his hand at the end of the day and said thank you, and to me that means a lot more.