Paris Rivers

How did you get into film and theatre?
I used to be an actor, but I realised it’s a terrible career choice, because I was never given any money. So I went behind the scenes and worked as a stage technician in the West End, building sets. Then I weaselled my way into special effects in film. I’m really enjoying it and hopefully I can get back to it sooner rather than later. I also work as a host and a performer in the cabaret scene.

Tell me about your career so far...
Slowly but steadily, my film career was just starting to blossom. I’d worked on 1917, the Kingsman films, Wonder Woman and Sex Education, all in the special-effects departments. I was slowly starting to build a name, and then the pandemic hit. The last film I worked on, which was not in special effects, was Disney film The Eternals. I was in the locations department and my role was to make sure the general public didn’t walk on set.

What did you do when the first lockdown began?
I was desperate for work. As part of the stagehand work I’ve done, I’ve also worked a lot as a techie, building stages and marquees for events. I got a call from one of my events contacts and they said: “The NHS is building all these morgues around London. We need guys who aren’t afraid of the dead – are you up for it?” I said yes. It wasn’t so much I wasn’t afraid of the dead, I was afraid of not paying the rent.

What happened next?
I was working on two of the NHS morgues for a couple of months. Then the morgues were going to be shut down, and we were all scared because we didn’t know what we were going to do for money, so I started talking to undertakers. I called up different funeral homes and eventually months later I got a job at one. I also worked briefly as a carer for a few weeks, in between being a morgue guy and an undertaker. I also work at one of the Covid-19 test sites part-time, so I’ve done all the crazy jobs this year.

Have your theatre skills helped you?
Mental fortitude is probably the main skill I’ve taken into working in these very bizarre jobs.

Are there any skills you have gained from this work?
Even more fortitude. Unfortunately nothing I’m doing now is going to translate directly into film or theatre, other than soft skills. And the soft skill is tenacity. The whole year has made me a lot more psychologically tough, because otherwise I would have broken. I’ve seen a child’s brain, I’ve seen bodies in various states of decay. You have to get on with it.

What is your message to other people in the arts?
You don’t need to retrain, you need to find something to help you get by for now. The UK has been through two world wars and lord knows how many recessions. The Second World War didn’t stop theatre and film and half of London was bombed. It didn’t stop actors and film-makers getting back into theatre and film.

CV Paris Rivers

Training: None
First professional role: Special effects for Kingsman 3 (2019)
Agent: None