FROM rubbing shoulders with Gerard Butler while filming blockbuster movie How To Train Your Dragon to performing at a local club in just a matter of weeks... that’s just a snapshot of Penistone comedian Pete Selwood’s life.
The 2023 Comedy Central Live star and New Yorkshire Comedian of the Year winner is doing his hometown proud.
The 35-year-old has appeared in two seasons of The Emily Atack Show on ITV2, The Likely Dads on BBC Radio 4, Shane Meadows’ ‘Gallows Pole’ and a BBC3 sketch alongside Jack Carroll entitled ‘Disabled In Da Club’.
But when he heard about auditions for the blockbuster Dreamworks movie How To Train Your Dragon, the Penistone dad admits that he didn’t quite realise how big the opportunity would be.
He told the Chronicle: “I got the news about the audition and I don’t normally get things through that are this big.
“I auditioned for a big part which I didn’t end up getting but I was called back for a smaller part which I got.
“I’m playing Drul who’s the helmsman of the ship.”
Directed by Dean DeBlois, a three-time Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winner, the film is stacked with talent.
Huge Hollywood superstars like Gerard Butler play a major role in the show - and Pete says that he’s still in the WhatsApp group.
“I found out that I had the part and then a week later the actors’ strike happened,” he said.
“You don’t think that something happening in America will affect you from your Penistone house but it did.
“We were supposed to start filming in August 2023 but started last year.
“It was filmed in Belfast which was great and I was there from February until March.
“It was very different from the sketches that I’ve done in the past.
“Everyone was absolutely fantastic.
“We were quite a tight-knit group which I believe isn’t always the case.
“Gerard is still in our WhatsApp group chat which I’m surprised about.”
And it’s not just the cast that impressed Pete - it was the entire crew.
“The first day I got there there was 300 extras on set,” he added.
“You’re surrounded by some of the most talented people in the world.
“That’s not just the actors - the whole crew are the best of the best.”
And just a week after he finished filming, Pete married his wife which he admits was good timing - and it wasn’t long until he was back on stage performing comedy.
He said: “I’d just gone from filming a proper Hollywood blockbuster movie, and then I performed at a club.
“I’d promised a mate that I’d do it.
“It was very different.”
The film premiered in the UK on Monday and is due to be released in the US later today - but what’s next for Pete?
“I’ve got quite a lot going on at the minute,” he said.
“I’m going on tour with Jack Carroll next year and we’re just starting up a podcast.
“That’s going to be called Loving North.
“It’s with Jack and Seeta Wrightson - it’s just about telling the most northern love stories.”
