A company in New Zealand is looking for... uhm, unconventional looking people for The Lord of the Rings TV show.
Orc-ward! Is this the world’s weirdest job advert?
Extremely hairy, mean-looking people are invited to apply as extras for Amazon’s new Lord of the Rings TV series – missing teeth an advantage
Tue 17 Dec 2019 13.47 GMT
Last modified on Wed 18 Dec 2019 10.00 GMT
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Name: Extras wanted.
Age: All ages welcome. And if your skin is not as silky smooth as it once was, then so much the better.
Well, that’s good. Appearance? This is where it begins to get really interesting. But perhaps you could be more specific with your questions.
OK, then. Size? So, extremes are good – very tall or very short, 6ft 5in plus or less than 5ft. Nothing in the middle please.
Hair? Yes! Lots! Especially if it is very red. Or very white. Or possibly both.
Cool. What else is there? Teeth? The fewer the better, and any that you do have should certainly not be straight ones, please.
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Gotcha. But why does this sound like the world’s weirdest recruitment drive? Because it’s the world’s weirdest recruitment drive. Interested?
How much? Around 300 dollars a day.
US? NZ. That is roughly £150. Plus, you will get a lunch.
New Zealand … hang on, I know this, isn’t that where Middle-earth is? Was, is, will be again. Like Peter Jackson’s blockbuster series, the new Amazon TV series based on JRR Tolkein’s fantasy novels begins production there next year.
And they are after extras? Correct. A couple of agencies in Auckland – make that Orc-land – are recruiting. One asks for missing teeth and “wonderful noses”; the other “hairy hairy people of all ages and ethnicities” as well as “stocky mean-looking bikers”.
Isn’t it discriminatory, average-ist? Boring-ist, more like. Time to redress the balance, reject the norm and celebrate the different.
OK, how many do they need? Dunno yet; Jackson used about 20,000. And the TV series is expected to be one of the most expensive TV shows ever made. The rights alone cost £187m.
What’s the population of New Zealand? A little under 5 million people, many of whom are of average height, have unremarkable noses and full sets of pearly gnashers. They may have to look further afield. You in?
[Checking in mirror] In! Plus, lunch is included, don’t forget. And Middle-earth is a long way from Brexit.
Do say: “Is that the dental-implant clinic? Yes, I’d like to cancel my appointment.”
Don’t say: “£187m for Peter Jackson’s leftovers? Are you having a laugh?”
