I'm a TV and Film Extra - AMA

[SupportingArtist]

Supporting artist, extra, background. AMA, happy to answer!!

Is this how you make a living or do you do this alongside another job?

How do you become one?

How much work do you get?

Does it require healthy self-esteem? I'm thinking of a time when a friend went for a period film extra job when we were students -- the ad said they needed both 'peasant and aristocrat types', and my friend saw himself as beautifully dressed in a powdered wig and kneebreeches. When he got there, he was glanced at and given a 'peasant' sticker, and spent the next fortnight wearing some kind of sacking smock and face-dirt.

I was just thinking of films where there are non-speaking roles for 'types' that are sometimes listed in the closing credits, like 'Overweight Man in Diner' or where someone has been cast because they're unusual-looking.

What do you chat about to other extras when you're in the background pretending to have a conversation?

No I don't make a living at it - I am self-employed/freelance and do extra work along with lots of other things too. I don't think being full time would be possible really.

You become one by signing up with one of the big agencies. There are lots out there, some specialise in geographic areas, others are UK wide. Look for reviews online, trustpilot reviews, what productions they have worked on.

It's really hard to say how much work I get on average - last year I did 5 days on a major movie in late winter, then 2 days on a Channel 4 drama, then another couple of things through summer. This year has been really quiet so far, just done one day to date this year. It really depends on what is shooting in your area, or whether you're prepared to travel long distances - I'm not going to drive to London from Scotland for one day's work. Others might be.

I've not really thought about the self-esteem thing. I am a very average person in her early 50s. I am never in a million years going to get put forward for a clubbing scene in a trendy club and i'm fine with that.

Chatting is easy - being on a film set involves a LOT of hanging around so usually you have had a chat with lots of extras before you even hear the word "action". It's mostly general chit chat about what other projects you've worked on, the catering, kids, holidays, what other things you do when you're not being an extra etc etc.

Is the Ricky Gervais series - Extras - accurate?

How much money a year do you make from it?

Is your name Maggie?

Do you need your own transport?

What's the weirdest scene you've ever done?

Do you have to pay the agency?
How do you know which are the big ones?
Do you always need to audition?

How can one get into this type of work? I am a specific colour, size and age - do they take these things into account?

My name is not Maggie. Sorry.

The average day rate is between £115 and £150. All the big productions use standard BBC / Pact rates and will tell you what the rate is before you agree to do the production or not. You get extra for having a haircut, overtime etc etc.

https://www.wegotpop.com/pages/uk/background-artist/rates/pact-faa/2023/

You don't have to have your own transport but it makes life a lot easier if you do. Last call I had was for 7am on a Sunday morning at an industrial estate - not easy with public transport and if you're paying for Uber etc then that's cutting your earnings. Quite often if the filming is in a city centre then the production base will be somewhere else, you'll meet there, and be bussed to location.

Have never done an audition. It's important to remember that you are NOT there to act. You are just there to fill in the background or walk along a street, for example.

When you register with the agency you fill in a LOT of information about your ethnicity, piercings, disabilities, physical appearance. Depending on the production they might be looking for a particular "type" - Afro-Caribbean women aged 25-35, or east Asian clean shaven men with piercings. For the more general castings they are just looking for a mix of people of different ethnicities.

You do pay the agency and the way they do this varies between companies - all laid out in the terms and conditions before you sign up. One agency I'm with takes £25 as a one-off annual fee then 15% off everything you earn. Other doesn't take an annual fee, but takes 20% of earnings.

Haven't done anything particularly weird yet - but worked with a guy who was an extra on a battlefield scene in Outlander and spent the day lying in a ditch pretending to be dead. The glamour.

I did a stint in the early 2000s but found it so incredibly boring I stopped. How do you cope with the monotony?!

Have you seen Ricky Gervais' Extras? Do you relate?

I read a lot of books, @TomatoSandwiches . I am currently doing a masters so the time for reading is appreciated. Or chat to other people.

I have seen extras, obviously exaggerated for comic effect but there is the odd person who is absolutely SURE that they are going to be spotted and whisked away to be a star. Most people are very ordinary though and just doing the extra-ing on the side.

Ask me anything ! More like ask me a question and I don't answer!

My DD is interested in this. What age did you start? Are their specific agencies for children?

I did answer, @creativebutterfly. They are looking for people of all ages, sizes, ethnicities, able-bodied or with a disability. Obviously someone with facial tattoos and pink hair is not going to hired to be background in a period drama. You get into the work by signing up with an agency.

Most agencies are 16 plus in terms of age. Some will ask whether you have kids - during Covid they were particularly interested in family groups who could work together because of the restrictions. Children aren't often used alone because there are so many more restrictions around working hours and chaperoning and so on - unless it's a specifically children's production. I have been on shoots where children are used as extras and their parent(s) are there too. Usually when you sign up with an agency they'll ask if you have kids or household members who can work with you.

Thanks really appreciate the information.

How interesting! Have you worked on anything we'd have heard of? (Are you allowed to say?!) have you seen any famous people? Is it hard not to look at what's going on when you're just in the background?

Thanks for getting back.