In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last year and somehow didn’t get the memo (or see the trailers, commercials, and overall fanfare), a little flick called Star Wars: The Force Awakens is coming out Dec. 18. Some of us are lucky enough to live in cities where it’s showing tonight, and others were even luckier and got to be an extra on the most anticipated films in the history of ever!
Torin Pocock, whose name sounds like an actual Star Wars character, took to Reddit to give fans the chance to ask questions about his once in a lifetime experience. Here are some of the highlights.
By far and away the most inspiring person I have met in the film industry. There were times when he would just stop us all and say “Guys… We’re making Star Wars“. In terms of style though, we could certainly tell that his focus was energy. A potentially dull dialogue scene was transformed by his choice of shot and his constant optimism. Performance-wise, he had the patience of a saint. I remember a particular scene where one actor just wasn’t giving him what he wanted. I have seen directors get furious very quickly over this, but Abrams just smiled all the way through. Totally knows how to get the best out of actors.
Yes. The first day I walked onto the set was breathtaking. Nothing can prepare you for how real these sets are. They had a team from bioFX who were grating moss flown in from forests in Belgium for the floor. As far as I was concerned, I was there. Huge amount of effort, a lot of which will go uncelebrated! So here’s to those guys!
I was just the right age to catch Episode I when it came out. This was my experience of Star Wars…
Haha. I could lie and tell you I’m a lifelong fan, but in reality I’m more just aware of the films in a pop-culture sort of way. I like them, don’t get me wrong! But I’m not a superfan.
Having said that, when I was told what it was, I did shriek like a little girl.
Torin wasn’t too concerned with the wrath of Disney or Lucasfilm for choosing to do an AMA. He kept things pretty spoiler-free. As for what the OG cast was like on set, Torin admits that seeing Harrison Ford as Han Solo was the standout moment for him. He also got to have lunch with C3PO, aka Anthony Daniels, and heard that Carrie Fisher was an absolute dream to work with.
As for how he got so lucky to get cast as an extra? He met some minor requirements, like height and weight, and was just easy to work with. He also says that he had maybe about three seconds of screen time, overall. But those three seconds are probably much cooler than most people’s whole lives will ever be. You can read the rest of the AMA here.
(Via Reddit)
