Cockneys vs Zombies is a horror comedy film about a gang of bank robbers fighting their way out of a zombie-infested London. I spent 2 days as a Supporting Actor (SA) on this film. Here is my story…

 

Day 1

 

I arrived at London Docklands at around 6:50am having set off from Yorkshire at 3:00am. This was my first time as an SA so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

Food was great!

On arrival all I could see were a few trailers for the main actors, toilets and a mobile kitchen where food was provided, (Which was very good by the way).

Cast trailers

Costume Trailer

As other extras appeared our names were taken and ticked off the list. I was listed as being a market stall holder for the Bank Robbery scene. When the time came the costume guy checked what we were wearing. I was asked to change into some of the extra clothing I had brought with me. We had already agreed we didn’t mind getting fake blood on our clothing.


Mini buses ferried the crew and cast to the various locations. Our base was a small cafe and the location for filming was a real street which was closed while filming took place. However there were residents at home still. One man was building his garden wall throughout but he was out of shot. The bank was a public library with the sign altered to read “Phoenix Bank”, the library was closed but there was the odd person appearing trying to use it wandering on set.


The scene at this location consisted of the bank robbers pulling up in a van to the bank, entering the bank, police showing up then the robbers bursting out shooting. My job was to tend a carpet market stall on the street outside the bank and tempt the passers by with my tacky carpet goods. When the robbers came out we were pushed back by the police then we had to duck for cover and dodge the gunfire.


This sounds like a simple scene but each part was shot multiple times from various angles and lasted all day. There was a lot of waiting around which I expected while close ups of the main cast were filmed.


At the end of the day myself and another SA were asked to do another scene at a different location. The scene was at a bus stop and we would be required to stand at the bus stop. We went to the location and waited while the main actors were filmed. After about an hour we realised they were going to do the scene without us which was a bit frustrating.


This was a tiring day.