The part could have been written for me as I do a lot of both in my spare time. In a couple of scenes, a barman by the name of 'Jim' loiters in the background and occasionally brings drinks. They mainly concerned the machinations of a slimy English doctor, a sweet Latvian nurse and our fine, upstanding hero. There are a few sections of English-language dialogue and the producers sent these to me for a quick look, as a result of which a few minor changes were made. Part of it involves Latvians being trained in England to infiltrate the Soviet occupation of their homeland and consequently, numerous scenes are set in a postwar England conjured from locations found entirely in Latvia. Sarkanais Mežs is an adventure series loosely based on real events and set in 1949. I occasionally act as a script consultant. Joining the cast came by a roundabout route. All it really takes is an interesting face that can be suitably contorted in the inevitable death scene. If reading The Heavies had taught me one thing, it was that drama school and The Method were by no means pre-requisites for a successful acting career. So when I was offered the chance to join the ranks of odd-looking people with a minor role in Sarkanais Mežs (Red Forest), the flagship TV production of Latvia's centenary funding project, I accepted quickly despite a notable lack of acting experience. No-one else is the least bit interested in them. Marc Lawrence and William Bendix, oddballs who can be seen lurking in the backgrounds of innumerable films noirs. To this day I can rattle off the biographies and filmographies of Elisha Cook Jr. When I was young I even had a book called The Heavies, which chronicled the careers of a certain sort of supporting player. They might only get a scene or two, but the presence of these strangely-shaped, broken-nosed, odd-looking and heavily-accented figures gives a film a human appeal and variety that can never be conveyed by the handsome and beautiful leading men and ladies. I have always preferred minor character actors to A-list film stars. Sling your hook! My part in the Latvian centenary series “Sarkanais Mežs”
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