Saturday, October 22, 2011

Woman picked to play corpse in Hollywood film after being spotted in charity shop

Retired civil servant Marilyn Mantle popped into a charity shop – and came out with a part in a movie starring some of Hollywood's biggest names. Stunned Marilyn was handpicked by a film producer for a part in Retreat, while dropping donations off at a shop. The 64-year-old was told she would be perfect for a part in the thriller movie.

She ended up playing a dead body washed up on the beach. Marilyn said: "The director phoned a few weeks later and said I was exactly what they were looking for. Of course, playing a dead body, I wasn't exactly sure how to take that."



Marilyn initially thought someone was pulling her leg. She did not hear from the producers for a few weeks and dismissed it as a hoax. But some time later, the film's designer took Marilyn for a £100 costume shopping spree at the Edinburgh Woollen Mill. Marilyn was then invited on set near Tudweiliog in Wales last year, alongside Batman star Cillian Murphy, Mission Impossible II actress Thandie Newton and Billy Elliott's Jamie Bell.

She said: "It was filmed in this little cove which was just covered with film crew. That's when I realised I had to get it right. It was not quite a joke like I thought it was." Her only instructions were to lie completely still, covered from her hips down in tarpaulin, in a rock pool of water. Marilyn, who will appear in the final edit for just a few seconds, received a round of applause from the cast and crew when filming was over. She also donated the £200 she was paid to the charity shop in Portmadoc where she was spotted.

2 comments:

SteveC said...

Being picked out special to play a bloated corpse? How flattering. haha

Although not exactly the same, I was hired to work on the film 'King Arthur' (Clive Owen, Keira Knightly). They wanted to use amputee extras who could show the injured, dead and dying. I was to de-limbed by Clive Owen himself
but my scene was cut.

I was completely overpaid, put in a hotel for 5 weeks (with weekends off to go home), I was picked up a studio car every morning and dropped off every night. I was fed and watered every day.
Not a bad gig while it lasted!

There is a website http://www.amputeesinaction.co.uk/
that hire out amputees for film. I'm joining!

arbroath said...

Heh heh, that sounds great!

It's a shame you didn't get to feature in the final film, though.