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Why Royal Marines veterans are going into arts, not private security

Tip Cullen (left) spent 30 years in the Royal Marines before he went to university to retrain as an actor - Anthony Upton
Tip Cullen (left) spent 30 years in the Royal Marines before he went to university to retrain as an actor - Anthony Upton

Armed Forces are turning their hands to acting and directing amid an uptick in demand for military productions.

Whilst a lucrative career in private security might have previously lured those who were leaving the Armed Forces, more are noticing a similarity between film sets and deploying on operations.

James Glancy, who served as an officer in the Royal Marines for a decade before going into documentaries, said the crossover between the two worlds was more obvious than people realise.

“We are organised, we can survive anywhere in the world and we can be medics whilst also helping with logistics and security,” he told The Sunday Telegraph. “With someone from the military you get a well rounded person who is on time and punctual. When delivering a TV show, a play or a film, those skills are key.”

Mr Glancy, 40, who served three tours in Afghanistan, said pulling together his latest feature film documentary “Afghanistan”, had very similar elements to executing an operation in a war zone.

James Glancy (centre)
James Glancy (centre)

“We had to plan with detail how to get into Helmand and Kandahar,” he said. “We had to operate in small numbers, revised all our medical training, vetted local people to work with, were driving off road, planning filming operations, it was run like a military operation.”

Mr Glancy, from Surrey, said he had noticed more “veterans turning down private security for the stage, as well as films and production companies”.

He explained this was likely because it was “really soulless working as a private military contractor”.

James Glancy (right)
James Glancy (right)

“You don’t believe in it like when you serve your country, it’s just for money,” he said. “It drives people crazy, you are just a gun for hire.”

During the Iraq and Afghanistan wars veterans could earn between 800 - 1,500 dollars a day, so “people sucked up the monotony because it was good money”.

“But it’s nothing someone is passionate about,” he said.

“But working in the arts is such a broad spectrum of different requirements, whether you are in logistics, intelligence or the front line, there is a place for you where you can use your skill sets.”

James Glancy filming underwater
James Glancy filming underwater

Connor Swindells, who plays David Stirling in the BBC’s latest military drama SAS Rogue Heroes, told The Telegraph that he had recently worked with a man in the costume department who revealed he came from a military background.

“He said he had the right skill set and that no one could sew and take care of clothing like he could,” Mr Swindells explained, adding that former paras had worked in the props and stunts departments.

“Being on set gives you structure because you have to be there at a certain time and we work long days. That kind of stuff is in the bones of people in the military.”

He added that on SAS Rogue Heroes one of the armourers, who handled all weapons on the set, was a former marine.

“There is no one you’d rather have handing you a gun that is clear and safe than a guy who is a former marine and spent his life handling weapons,” Mr Swindells added.

Tip Cullen, a 54-year-old actor originally from Belfast, spent 30 years in the Royal Marines before he went to university to retrain as an actor.

Tip Cullen (left) during the filming of Sunray Series at Max Events near Dorchester - Anthony Upton
Tip Cullen (left) during the filming of Sunray Series at Max Events near Dorchester - Anthony Upton

He said that it is what he experienced on his various tours that has given him a large array of emotions to “tap into” when developing a character. “The spectrum of people you’ve met in the military lends itself to which character you play,” he said. “You tap into those emotions when you’ve lost people on the front line. I had a challenge morally to tap into that but now I realise me becoming an actor is because of those people. I tap into their memories.”

Tip Cullen (centre left) in the play ‘Minefield/Campo Minado’ performed in Buenos Aires during the 40th Anniversary of the Falklands War - Gustavo Gavotti
Tip Cullen (centre left) in the play ‘Minefield/Campo Minado’ performed in Buenos Aires during the 40th Anniversary of the Falklands War - Gustavo Gavotti

Mr Cullen added that in recent years he had noticed “more people on set with a military background,” from acting to making sculptures and painting on sets.

“Some veterans can be vulnerable after service but this gives them a pathway,” he said.