Extras wanted – Scots need not apply

Casting agents for blockbuster action thriller World War Z, starring Brad Pitt, are asking for screen characters from a wide range of backgrounds, except Scottish.

In an advert posted on Creative Scotland’s website, the film’s casting call states that it is particularly looking for those with Irish and Italian backgrounds, as well as people of Black African, Black Afro Caribbean, Hispanic and Chinese ethnicity, as long as they can work legally in the UK.

The film, which depicts the world ten years after a zombie invasion that almost wiped out mankind, will spend two weeks shooting scenes in the city next month and is hoping to recruit around 2,000 extras from the area.

However, although the film specifies that it is looking to cast people from Irish backgrounds, it makes no mention of those from Scottish ones.

Actors’ union Equity criticised the production for advertising for extras from specific ethnicities and questioned why it needed to do so.

“Our approach is that we don’t think it’s necessary to do that,” said an Equity spokesperson. “We don’t think you need to stereotype people in such a way because we think we’ve gone beyond that now really – people can act within multiple different roles.

“Asking for someone of an ethnic Irish background – what does that even mean? It gets into territory that can be a bit uncomfortable.”

Candy Marlowe, the film’s crowd assistant director, who is currently in Glasgow, said the reason for the ethnic diversity was because the scenes were set in the American city of Philadelphia.

“With a bit of tweaking we will make Glasgow look like downtown Philadelphia, so we want that real American mix of ethnicities. We’re casting those people in particular because we need a good mix.”

Extras will receive £130 per day and will be used to depict a wide variety of characters, including the homeless, businessmen and women and members of the military and the emergency services.

The film is based on the bestselling post-apocalyptic novel World War Z: An Oral History Of The Zombie War, by Max Brooks, and will be directed by Quantum Of Solace director Marc Forster.

Last week it was reported that veteran actor Ed Harris and Lost star Matthew Fox, who had both been slated for major roles, had pulled out of the production due to scheduling conflicts.

World War Z stars Brad Pitt as a UN agent travelling the world interviewing survivors of the recent zombie war. It is currently filming in Malta, and production will shift to Glasgow in early August.

Marlowe said the advert for extras was not designed to cause offence. “We could have a group of Scottish people. We could even have a sub-group of Irish and a sub-group of Scottish. Scots are definitely not out.”

Creative Scotland declined to comment on the casting.