# How do I become an extra?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-become-an-extra/183737
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [June 23, 2003, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-become-an-extra/183737 "2003-06-23T10:39:46Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@syntax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syntax)
#### Post date: [June 23, 2003, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-become-an-extra/183737/1 "2003-06-23T10:39:46Z")
hi there,
i’m a student, looking to earn some money in the summer. rather than going for the typical student type job as working in a bar etc., i want to earn more cash by being an extra in films/tv programs. question is how do i go about doing such a thing in the UK? i also hear that it is a quite a closed industry? do i need to get an agent/agency? thanks for any info!
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### Author:  [@Tarantula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarantula)
#### Post date: [June 23, 2003, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-become-an-extra/183737/2 "2003-06-23T10:54:09Z")
Check out [this website](http://www.soyouwanna.com). It gives some good advice on these sort of things…
Hope that helps.
🙂
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### Author:  [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)
#### Post date: [June 23, 2003, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-become-an-extra/183737/3 "2003-06-23T13:14:15Z")
At least here (US-Atlanta), you can usually catch ads in the local “alternative” rag (ours is called Creative Loafing) that’ll say “Looking for Extras for suchandsuch a film”. I’d say try local film schools/film programs.
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### Author:  [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)
#### Post date: [June 23, 2003, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-become-an-extra/183737/4 "2003-06-23T18:07:59Z")
Good luck…
Unless you live in Los Angeles or NYC it’s going to be hit or miss. (I suppose there’s lots of movies being filmned in London) I did it for a summer when I first moved to Burbank. It makes a cute story to say you’ve “been in a movie” but generally the money stinks and it turns into hours and hours of boredom\*. I’ve been an extra and a featured extra in several movies and tv shows and I would not reccomend it. I would have made more money working at McDonald’s and the benefits are better.
But you asked “How”… I signed up with an Extra’s Agency. Got work every day I showed up. Lots of times asked if I had certain clothes, “can you dress like a lawyer? do you have a sports jersey? wear a winter coat” stuff like that. Also, If it was not on studio property they were required to feed you. Great food on those movie sets!
\*Whenever I hear people complain about big actors being overpaid I mention my experience and opine that they deserve every penny they get if for nothing else putting up with all that waiting and still lookinf excited when the camera rolls.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [June 23, 2003, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-become-an-extra/183737/5 "2003-06-23T21:00:16Z")
I second signing up with an extras agency. When I did extra work, my biggest obstacle was that I had a full-time job. Filming is usually done during the week. Anyway, at the time (1980s) the general warning was to avoid agencies that required a large fee up-front.
In L.A. there is _Drama-Logue_, which carries casting and crewing notices.