Crowning glory
Netflix stars form band of bearded brothers
IAIN Wilkie swapped frantic London for the sleepy Highlands in the search for a quiet life. It hasn’t quite worked out that way. The 40-year-old has never been busier since taking on work as a film extra after moving to Grantown-on-Spey with his young family. Now he’s starring in hit shows like The Crown and Game of Thrones and filming all over Scotland. It’s clearly not just the Scottish scenery that’s a hit in the world of TV.
A HIGHLANDER has told how he became an extra on Outlaw King by chance – and hasn’t stopped filming since.
Iain Wilkie enjoyed the camaraderie on the set so much that he teamed up with 700 other walk-on characters to form the Beautiful Bearded B*stards.
Producers of the Netflix BY CHARLIE GALL film about Robert the Bruce required dozens of bearded characters for the brutal battle scenes.
Iain, 40, of Grantown on Spey, Moray, said: “My dad asked me to take him and my brother Glen down to Aviemore for the casting of extras in Outlaw King.
“I’d no intentions of trying out but, because I was there, I did it and got booked. Funny thing was my dad and Glen weren’t selected – and I didn’t even have a beard at the time.”
During filming at nearby Rothiemurchus, one of the featured actors in a fight scene got injured.
Iain said: “The sword master asked me if I could do it and I jumped at the chance.”
Once filming wrapped at the site, the producers asked him to join them at other shoots around Scotland.
The Beautiful Bearded B*stards were formed after three weeks of shooting at Mugdock Country Park, near Glasgow.
Iain said: “All of us boys
Elisa, the couple decided they wanted a quieter life and settled in Grantown on Spey with their son in 2017.
But after his acting break, Iain only managed to take 14 days off this year.
He got parts in the likes of The Crown, Men in Black 3, The Fast and the Furious and Wonder Woman 2.
In 2019, he will appear in the final series of Game of Thrones. He and many of his comrades fittingly took part in the Battle of the B*stards, the longest battle scene ever filmed for TV.
Iain said: “I can’t talk about Game of Thrones but my life is going to change next year for sure. And all this was because of one day on set at Rothiemurchus.”