"Beach Party"
When Rob Leaman went on a dream
holiday to Thailand, little did he realise he would end up appearing
in a movie with Hollywood superstar Leonardo Dicaprio.
And now the accountancy student from Waverton is waiting with bated breath for the nation-wide release of The Beach, next month, which includes a moment where he is clearly seen standing next to the box office record breaker of Titanic.
Rob, 20 was coming to the end of a four-week holiday in Thailand in March last year with his girlfriend, Katy Peters, 19, Dorchester. When they were approached by the casting director of The Beach.
‘We were out shopping and this women came up to us and said we were just what she was looking for to be extras in the film’, explained Rob. ‘We knew all about the film coz we had read the book by Alex Garland and agreed straight away’.
For the next four days they found themselves enjoying the glamorous movie lifestyle as they headed for the isolated location of Maya bay, where British director Danny Boyle was masterminding the production.
The highlight for Rob came on the second day when he was chosen to be in a planned scene with heartthrob DiCaprio. Sadly time ran out and the scene was scrapped, but because Rob had been messed about, he was given the chance to be at the front of a group of extras in a scene featuring the star.
‘I have been told the scene is in the finished film and it also appears in the trailers which are currently appearing at cinemas’ said a delightful Rob.
Trying to chat to megastar Leo was strictly off limits and Rob recalls the actor never even making eye contact with anyone around him-although he was still left with a favourable impression.
‘He knew that if he did look at anyone in the eye, they would expect him to say something. There was nothing arrogant about this, he was just trying to live as normal life as he could’, said Rob.
I remember seeing him going down the beach at one point and spying on everyone through the trees. It was the only time he ever looked at anyone else on the set.’
On Tuesday there was another thrill for Rob when Twentieth Century Fox invited him to attend the private cast and crew screening on The Beach in London a week on Sunday, three weeks ahead of it’s official release on February 11th.
‘Leonardo will not be there, but I'm told that everyone else in the film will be there’, said Rob.
It is not the first time Rob, studying at Newcastle University, has found himself in the spotlight - his rock band Plasticine, were asked by Chester chart-toppers, Mansum to support them at their Northgate Arena concert in December 1998.
‘It’s been a bit difficult at the moment coz we are all at university in various parts of the country but we plan to get together at Easter to do a recording session.'
The above article comes from The Chronicle (UK) and was typed for us by Charlotte.
Principal photography for The Beach took place in Thailand between January and April 1999. Although the film-makers were anxious to stop people watching or taking pictures they couldn't as many of the locations were on public land. If you have any pictures that you would like added to this collection or you want to tell us what you saw, then please contact the webmaster.The copyright for the photographs on theses pages belong to the owner and the pictures cannot be reproduced elsewhere without their permission.
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