My extra special ‘Braveheart’ day on set with Mel

Awoken by a boot to the backside and the swift instruction “let's go kid” the three or four of us who had fallen asleep waiting for the cameras to roll again were rudely awakened by the director demanding his full attention.

It was a Monday morning after all. The exertions of the night before, the early morning call and the thrill on being on the set on a major movie production had drained the energy from this group of young Trim men who had been signed up to fulfil the roll of 'additional townsfolk' on the streets of Smithfield, London where Scottish rebel leader William Wallace was to be hanged, drawn and quartered.

It was all very surreal. Mel Gibson's American accent filled the air as he woke us from our slumber and we were shuffled into place for a scene that was repeated time and time again with Gibson wheeled onto the stage of his 'execution' through a baying crowd of Trim people who found it both hilarious and thrilling.

Back in early September 1994 Trim was buzzing with the arrival of a major Hollywood production that went on to make over $200 million at the box office and win five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director, and everybody in the town wanted to play their part.

The movie created jobs for hundreds of local people. Carpenters, painters, general work men and of course extras were employed to help create the town of York at the Barbican Gates of the historic Trim Castle, the old streets of London filled the castle grounds and the Castle Keep was transformed into a location from where 'Longshanks' threw his son's boyfriend out the window.

Everyone wanted to be an extra, a chance to get an inside look at the set of a major Hollywood production was too good to pass up. Thousands applied, but only a couple of hundred were selected to fulfil the roles required in the scenes set around Trim Castle.

Like every other young lad in the town I put my hat in the ring. Off college and with nothing else to do, I chanced my arm and when the call came to join the crew the excitement was uncontainable.

A few of my mates also made the cut, but some found the boredom of the early morning rise, the wait in the costume tent, followed by the march by the barrels of peat moss which served as our 'make-up' and the endless waiting around for the call of 'action' too much to handle and they cut after less than a day, for those of us that stayed it was a few days we'll never forget.

On the morning the execution of Wallace was being filmed the extras had a long wait while Gibson ensured everything was perfect. As we napped on the drying mud of 'London town' the production crew were busy setting up the scene. Every detail was carefully planned and examined, nothing could be left to chance.

To our surprise Gibson personally woke us from our early morning catch-up sleep and it was action. The scene wasn't without its hiccups. One lad left his digital watch on and was spotted – 'cut, get that f*#king watch off now' cried Gibson.

As Gibson was being carried into the town for execution we were to fire soft fruit and veg at him while hurling obscenities in his direction.

One clever clog managed to fire a stone and catch Gibson right on the side of the head, it caused the director to launch a tirade of abuse on us poor innocents, but the scene made the final cut and made national headlines

There are a 101 stories to be told around Trim about the few weeks of filming that brought the glitz and glamour of Hollywood to the town and there's always someone happy to tell you a tale or two.