New World Extra

I probably should have called it: What Is Colin Farrell Really Like? This is the story of my summer gig working as an extra in the film The New World, which was Terrence Malick's dramatic re-creation of the Jamestown experience and the life of Pocahontas, released in 2006 by New Line Cinema. I saw a story in the newspaper about auditions. I had very little acting experience, but I had had ancestors at Jamestown in the 1600s and was writing a book about some of them. So I thought it might help me to feel the ambience of Jamestown if I was "lucky" enough to make the cut. In the first scene on the first day, I had to perform next to Colin Farrell and Christopher Plummer. Everyone seemed to think I should know what to do! Overall, I think the book will give readers a new appreciation of the talent, hard work, and sheer craziness that go into the making of a big budget Hollywood film. Reynolds Price said: "I loved your account of the stint in The New World.... The whole piece is appropriately a hoot."