Smiling at Rafe Spall

Film trailers at Glenside campus

So, last month I visited a film location - Chavenage House near Tetbury. This month, I was within smiling distance of a film star - and I didn't even have to travel outside my usual locale to do so!

A TV crew rolled up at Glenside Campus this week to film scenes for Mum's List, a film based on the book by St John Greene. The true story is about a woman dying of breast cancer who gave a list of instructions to her husband to raise their two sons. Things like 'Celebrate birthdays big time' and 'Go to Egypt and snorkel in the Red Sea.'

Emilia Fox (Merlin, The Wrong Mans, The Casual Vacancy, Silent Witness) plays the part of Kate Greene, whilst Rafe Spall (Life of Pi, I Give It A Year, Prometheus) plays her husband.

The TV crew took over the students' car park with their trailers (which probably didn't go down very well with the students who then had to find somewhere else to park) and there were 'ML' signs dotted around certain parts of the campus.

Rafe Spall and Emilia Fox's trailer

There was no sign of either Rafe Spall or Emilia Fox when I walked through the car park on my way into work this morning, and both their trailer doors were firmly shut. However, when I walked past later on my way home, Rafe Spall's door was open and he was sat inside!

I smiled in at him.

He smiled* back.

My heart missed a beat; a film star had smiled at me! Wow!

I carried on walking. (Playing it cool, obvs.)

I was so, so tempted to turn back around and strike up a conversation, or ask if I could take his photo, but I restrained myself. I didn't want to be the one to break his concentration if he was mentally preparing himself for his next traumatic scene. (Besides which, I had a book I wanted to return to the library before it closed. Priorities, right?)

So, fellow Quest Seekers, have you ever approached anyone famous? And would you have approached Rafe if you'd been in my shoes?

*It might've been a grimace - he was looking a mite bored as he sat there on his lonesome in his trailer.