The ideal birthday gift? A ring from the Hobbit!
How you can hire a star to record phone message for a loved one
IT is the perfect gift for the movie fan in your life...a ring from a Hobbit.
For Scots Lord of the Rings actor Billy Boyd is one of a string of stars offering personalised video messages for as little as £30.
Fans can shell out for greetings from actors, singers, comedians, reality TV personalities and footballers – and Scotland’s celebrities have been quick to cash in.
Actors from Harry Potter, Outlander and Game of Thrones are offering the service, as are Strictly Come Dancing and Love Island participants. And if your favourite star is not taking part, there is a host of lookalikes who can fill in instead.
The popularity of video message apps such as Cameo and Celeb VM rocketed when people were stuck inside as coronavirus hit and out-of-work stars found themselves with lots more time on their hands. Glasgow-born Boyd has quickly become one of the most soughtafter stars after signing-up to Cameo and charging £159.99 for a short video message.
In one two-minute video, shared on his profile page, the 51-year-old can be seen singing Happy Birthday to a fan. In another he sends his ‘congratulations’ to a young Australian couple who have just got engaged – and jokes he would love to come to their wedding dressed as Pippin from Lord of the Rings.
Outlander star Lauren Lyle, who plays Marsali Fraser in the hit series, has been inundated with message requests since she joined up earlier this year.
The 27-year-old, who charges £124.99 per video, has made the most of a break in filming and generated more than £3,000 from her videos – some of which she donated to charity.
She likes to film them outside in the Scottish countryside to give recipients a ‘taste of Outlander country’. One fan posted on her
Cameo page thanking her for ‘making our quarantine wedding anniversary very memorable’.
Veteran Scots actor James Cosmo, known for his roles in Braveheart, Trainspotting and Game of Thrones, is another popular choice – sending out more than 100 personal messages in recent months. The 72-year-old from Dumbarton charges £49.99 for a video message and will also send a personalised text message for £9.99.
Former Everton and Rangers striker and television commentator Andy Gray has filmed more than 70 videos at £69.99 each in recent months – making at least £5,000.
Scots Love Island star Laura Anderson, who appeared in season 4 of the controversial ITV2 series, charges £29.99 for a short video.
Glasgow-born Harry Potter actor Sean Biggerstaff, who plays Oliver Wood, captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team in the hit films, charges £49.99 for a video and £2.99 for a text. Strictly Come Dancing winner and Holby City actor Joe McFadden promises he will ‘say pretty much anything you want me to say’ in one of his £39.99 videos.
But the sums charged by Scots are tiny compared to global celebrities. Jaws star Richard Dreyfuss asks for an eye-watering £1,000.
‘I’ll say pretty much anything you want me to for £39.99’