March 31, 2006
Confessions of a Hollywood Extra
Whenever those wacky Hollywood casting directors are looking for a "club kid," "drag queen," "punk rocker," or "DEAD BODY," I know I had better make myself available.
The first DEAD BODY job I did was on the final season of The X-Files. The year was 2000 and I had just joined SAG. I was one of those embarrassing extras who thought joining the union meant I was famous. "Hi, you’re Sham? Follow me, we need to get you into makeup right away," the AD said, handing me a white robe. I thought to myself, "Yes, throw some fake blood on me, take me straight to Agents Scully and Mulder, and have Fox assign me a publicist."
In a tone almost like a nurse's, the makeup assistant told me to get completely naked, with the exception of a cotton pad over my cock and balls. I was confused. I thought I would be shirtless only. Last time I checked they weren't showing ass on TV. The AD sternly explained that my higher base pay was for the nudity involved in the scene, they were behind schedule, and the last thing he needed was to argue with an extra about information I should’ve discussed with the casting agency. So I reluctantly did what I was told. "We go for realism on the show. If you died on your side the blood would have congealed and the bottom of you would be darker," the nice makeup ladies cheerfully explained as they airbrushed me. The makeup crew had won several Emmys for their talents, but it was hard to think about that at 6:30AM, while my naked body was being sprayed with freezing cold liquid makeup for four hours straight!
We were shooting in the woods, it was winter, and it was maybe 40 degrees outside. I swear I saw frost on the ground. The director told me to remove my robe, lie down, nude, backside facing the camera, and hold very still, keeping in mind not to breathe while they were rolling. Ten or 12 takes and about two hours later, the AD yelled, “Check the gate!” It was a wrap. Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny were not even in the scene!
I told my family and ALL of my friends to tune in with the other 10 or 15 million viewers. "There must’ve been a B-camera shooting my face, and I’m sure they’ll edit around my bare ass. They can’t show ass on primetime television," I reasoned. My big TV moment lasted about two seconds and, well, I was DEAD wrong about them showing my face and not my ass. (Take a look)
– Sham Ibrahim
[Ed note: WOW Report editor was also on an episode of The X-Files and wrote about it for Details mag, and someone transcribed it and put it on Gillian Anderson's website.]
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