SAS Rogue Heroes actor Alex Mason has revealed that filming for the BBC drama was ground to a halt on several occasions due to sandstorms on set in Morocco.
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The actor, who plays a Scottish soldier in the series, spoke exclusively to HELLO! about his experience filming the historical drama, which is a dramatised account of how the SAS was formed during the darkest days of World War Two.
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"There were quite serious sandstorms that stopped filming on numerous occasions," said Alex, who enjoyed a career as a paratrooper in the military before pursuing his acting dream. "They were severe, you couldn't see anyone a few meters in front of you."
When asked if it was a scary experience, Alex, who previously dealt with sandstorms during his days in the military, said that it was for "a lot" of the cast.
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"It would be so quiet and still and you would be filming and it would be fine and then you would get a glimpse of something. Then as you look over the dune or wherever you were, you'd just see this thing coming towards you and it was this massive cloud of sand," he explained. "It was like a wall and it comes and hits you straight away."
© Photo: BBCAlex plays a Scottish soldier in the drama series
Detailing how the cast reacted to the frightening moment, Alex said: "A very unique moment for me was when I went to the trailers and all the actors were huddled round together listening to Sandstorm by Darude like, 'Let's get through this!'. The trailers were shaking."
Alex was initially brought onto the series as a part of the health and safety team, and was cast as a soldier thanks to one of the drama's stars, Jack O'Connell. "I was actually part of the health and safety team on there and was cast on set by Tom Shankland [the show's creator] through Jack O'Connell," he explained.
© Photo: BBCAlex landed the role thanks to co-star Jack O'Connell
"So Jack just came up to me and said, 'Listen, we know you've done some short films, you've done some acting. How do you feel about doing this?' And I was like, 'Yes, it's what I've been wanting to do for years.'"
SAS Rogue Heroes continues on Sunday 20 November at 9pm. All episodes are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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