Northamptonshire man appears in TV ad for Nectar card

David Hawker’s first job as an extra came in 1999 with a part in Eastenders.

His career as a film and TV extra has since seen him appear in films including Clash of the Titans, The Da Vinci Code, Love Actually, Casino Royale, Dark Shadows, Martin Scorsese’s Hugo and Alice Through The Looking Glass.

And he is back on the small screen with an advert by Nectar, the loyalty card scheme with retail members including Sainsbury’s, BP and Homebase.

It is the first in a series of TV adverts, narrated by Bill Nighy, which focuses on the peculiarities and eccentricities of individuals who make up the diverse melting pot of modern Britain.

The campaign is aimed at promoting Nectar as the loyalty card that will reward customers with the things they truly love, such as new matchsticks for Mr Hawker’s character after his hand-made boat is smashed to pieces by an apple thrown for a pet pig.

This latest casting came after Mr Hawker, who said he has ‘some celebrity status’ in Rushden, was working on Hugo and was approached by an agency which said it may have some work for him.

They sent him to a casting for the Nectar advert and he was given the part after being recalled.

He said: “There were four different scenes that I appear in and they were filmed one after another.

“There was just a small break when the girl’s part was being filmed.

“I can’t tell you how many takes of each scene there was, but I am not grumbling for a moment.

“I was actually booked for three days but they got it done in a day.”

Filming took place at a location between High Wycombe and Beaconsfield and the advert was aired just two weeks after being filmed.

While Mr Hawker loves being an extra, he said the industry has changed in recent years.

CGI has had an effect as some scenes can be created without the need for extras.

He also said Ricky Gervais’ show Extras has affected the trade as lots of people were inspired by the show to apply to be an extra so there are many more people now applying for jobs than before.

But he still loves it, especially when he is promoted from to having a bigger part, sometimes including a speaking role, or when he is recognised in the street.

Mr Hawker said: “People are always stopping me in the street and saying they have seen me in something.

“I think it’s lovely, it’s more than money can buy.

“As an old chap of 70 living on his own, I am never lonely.

“If I ever need to speak to someone, all I need to do is walk down the street.

“I get people of all ages stop to speak to me.”

Mr Hawker can also be seen in the near future when he makes a brief appearance in the first episode of the BBC series Michael McIntyre’s Big Show.