MEETING Aidan Turner, starring as a policeman and working on the set of hospital drama Casualty have all been part of a day’s work for support artist Nathan Pegler.

Learning about the film and television industry, seeing stars at work and enjoying the chance to wear some interesting costumes are all perks of the job. But when Nathan gave up his steady job at Honda in May 2013 to follow his dream of being an artist, he little suspected that not only would his artwork be a huge success, but that he would begin an exciting new career in film and television.

He is what we used to call an Extra – though these days, he says the term supporting artist is preferred.

“I signed up with agencies when I left Honda. Nothing happened for two years so I didn’t bother with it,” he said.

“Then in February 2017, a got a call from one of them – Universal Extras, who I thought I was no longer registered with. They said, we need you next week, if you are free, to be a body double for Ewen Bremner.”

Ewen Bremner is famous for his role as Spud in the 90s sensation Trainspotting, as well as its successor, Trainspotting 2.

As a body double, Nathan was required to take Ewen’s place on set, and in costume, whenever the actor’s presence wasn’t needed.

“There are two levels – a stand-in and the body double. Each actor has a stand in, who helps get things set up, and technical details.

"The body double of more involved. I was in full costume on an outdoor set. It was a gallows, with all the effects and cameras and a crowd and I had to say lines of the speech as a reference for everyone else.

“Some of the shots from the neck down are me.”

This was a scene for the American drama series Will, a fictional take on the early life of William Shakespeare, in which Ewen Bremner plays torturer Richard Topcliffe.

Nathan said the filming took place at the Dragon Studios at Bridgend in Wales.

“It was a big budget and fantastic production,” he said. “It was amazing for my first every job as a supporting artist. I even had my own trailer for a short time!

“I didn’t know anything about anything, so it was a baptism of fire.”

The gig lasted 15 days, and Nathan believes it was having the same physique as Bremner, so he could wear the costume, which landed him the job.

“There’s a bit of luck involved,” he smiled. “I don’t look like Stallone, but a bit like Ewan!”

He says he crossed paths with Bremner on set, who thanked him every time.

“We had a quick chat on the last day – he’s a nice guy.”

Once his first job was over, the opportunities came rolling in.

He worked on a film called The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, starring Lily James.

“I played a dock worker,” Nathan said. “It was an extremely small part. We were filming at the M-Shed in Bristol. They had a ship called the Balmoral moored up, and a steam train. It was a large outdoor piece. Lily was there. It was a lovely scene of them getting up on the ship.”

He went on to be a support artist in a new BBC detective drama called Collateral, starring Carey Mulligan, John Simm and Billie Piper.

“I made a scene with Nathaniel Martello-White, as one of the police officers searching the office. We had to charge up and down the streets with Nathaniel.

"It was filmed in a side street in Pimlico, with two fake police cars. We had to do it 15 or 20 times.”

Nathan said that in the past he had fancied joining the military, so he enjoyed playing military and police roles as a support artist.

He has even taken special courses in handling firearms for film and television productions, organised by firearms instructor Benjamin Leonides-Morgan in Wales.

He has also worked on the set of BBC hospital drama Casualty, starred as a security guard on popular BBC thriller Keeping Faith - “I was blurred out, but you can see me moving in the background” – and he played the role of a servant in the latest series of period drama Poldark.

“It was filmed in December and I was a servant in a flashback scene. Being in Poldark was a thrill,” he said.

“This was more of an intimate scene, with probably four or five support artists.

“I chatted with Aidan Turner. Normally you only speak when you are spoken to, you have to leave the actors to work.”

The filming took place near Tetbury on a very cold day.

“I was on site at 7am and it was minus 12 degrees,” Nathan remembered. “I had my little breeches and tights on.”

Although the job always involves a lot of hanging around, Nathan says he never gets bored. A film and media fan, he enjoys watching the process of making a film or television programme.

“There’s always something going on.

"When the holding area is near what’s going on, you can see them set up the cameras.

"You need a lot of patience but if you are interested in that world, it’s interesting anyway.”

Bound by strict confidentiality rules, Nathan cannot tell us about his most recent adventures as a support artist, but suffice to say, he will be appearing on our screens in other productions soon.

His art career is also blossoming.

“It’s been a fantastic 12 months. I’ve introduced a new style. I’ve come up with black and white drawings – sometimes as simple as white paper and gel pens.

"I’m influenced by the work of Tim Burton – I love his films – and do my own interpretations of his characters.”

He draws characters influenced by The Nightmare Before Christmas and Alice in Wonderland, as well as Coraline by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels. Nathan tours the comic con circuit around the UK, where his art sells well.

“My work has had a fantastic reception, especially the Tim Burton stuff,” he said.

It may come as a surprise, then, that years ago he was rejected by an art school. He went for an interview at the Euclid Street art college, aged 17, when they told him to go away and do some more work to improve. All these years later, Nathan is successfully selling work to people who appreciate his talents.

When he is neither creating art or working as a support artist, Nathan has another string to his bow.

“I have my own stormtrooper costume,” he said. “It’s a very old and expensive one. I have a small business as a lone trooper for parties or film openings. I enjoy dressing up and taking on a role.”

Now Nathan, who lives with partner Samantha Williams in Winterbourne Bassett, and has a daughter called Lauren, is taking the next step and taking acting classes.

“Moving forward, I’ve booked in the Shoebox Theatre’s beginners acting classes,” he said. “I am hoping that will help me on set.”