While some people were sitting back and enjoying their weekend, I ended up at the Park Rotana twofour54 complex in Abu Dhabi auditioning to be an extra in the new Brad Pitt film, War Machine.

The satire, produced by video-streaming company Netflix, also stars Topher Grace, Will Poulter and Anthony Michael Hall and is expected to begin filming in Abu Dhabi shortly.

Normally, this isn’t something I would attend. I don’t have anything against extras or the film industry but I have no dreams to be on the big screen.

However, knowing that filming would be done locally enticed me. As this was the first time I had gone to a casting audition, I wasn’t sure really what to expect.

The queue for the audition wasn’t as long as I expected. About 50 people from seemingly all parts of the globe turned up for a chance to be in the film.

Even though the original casting call asked for men and women between 18 and 30, there were some older hopefuls who showed up as well. But a majority did seem to meet the “physically fit” aspect of the casting call. Details