The anticipation is growing ahead of the latest James Bond film- No Time To Die. The fifth, and reported final Daniel Craig appearance as Bond is due to be released in April next year, with filming finally wrapping up earlier this year.
However, it will be a special role for one particular person from the West Midlands, as it was revealed that Sparkhill shelf-stacker Tayyib Mahmood would be involved in the upcoming release.
Tayyib works at Asda in Perry Barr but has spent the last four months working as a studio unit trainee on the upcoming Bond film. It is fair to say that his announcement about being involved in the film came as a shock to most around him, but he has revealed that starring in the film has helped him realise a dream.
It has been a long road to this point for the shop worker as he was studying film production technology at Birmingham City University. However, the hard work was worth it, as he admitted: “it was the best experience that I have ever had.”
“Everyone on set was friendly and lovely. The first day on set was just insane – I kept on thinking ‘I’m working on the Bond film!’. The days were long … 10 hours, 12 hours minimum. But every day something new happened, you never got bored, nothing ever stayed the same.
“But underneath that, it was like clockwork – everyone had their own mechanism and pulled their own weight.”
The Sparkhill local got the role on the Bond film after getting a placement through the British Film Institute’s Future Skills programme. The scheme ensures a pathway into film for aspiring workers and helps mould the future generation of filmmakers.
The upcoming Bond film includes scenes shot in Italy and Jamaica, but unfortunately, Tayyib didn’t get the opportunity to enjoy the warmer climates as he was based at the Pinewood Studios for the duration of his placement.
Should he have been sent abroad, he may have had to have a bigger conversation with his employees, as he admitted: “Initially, I didn’t tell Asda.”
“I just said I was working on a film. I just said it was a placement and took a leave of absence. Even my family didn’t believe me at first.”
Tayyib first got engaged by the big screen when he went to see the Arnold Schwarzenegger classic Terminator 2: Judgement Day in 1991. However, he has said that his inspiration in his personal projects have come around through his love of British horror-comedy classics such as Shaun of the Dead.
His dedication to his work knows no bounds, as he uses the wages that he gets from Asda on his personal projects within the field. This desire to make films started when he was 17 and his most recent release was titled ‘Untitled’, and it is a cop comedy.
He revealed that the education at university gave him the best possible platform to excel while on set with Bond. He said: “Studies were very challenging when I began my degree. Although I soon realised it was a natural thing to experience when starting a course.
“I overcame my apprehension by just getting my head down and cracking on. The skills I learned on the course were critical to me landing the job on Bond.”
Written by Alex Dudley from We Love Brum